UQ SUMMER
by Amnesty
Summary: Just a sweet story about a love found during summer... With yakuza... and hitmen. Violence warning. Modern AU.
1. Chapter 1

A/N Just a little two shot, maybe three shot, while I battle writer's block with my other stories. Modern time, very boring, non-magical AU about a love found during summer.

UQ SUMMER  
By. Amnesty

It was the early evening at the annual Watermelon festival and everything was now in full swing and now packed full of people from across the surrounding countryside. It wasn't nearly as fancy as the festivals that you could find in Tokyo but they always did quite well for themselves and put on a pretty good show. Vender booths lined the walkway where merchants sold their wares and the sweet smell of carnival food wafted in the air. Toward the center of the festivities there were an array of money stealing games and rickety rides.

Those money stealing games and rickety rides were exactly what Touta Konoe and his buddies from school were currently heading towards. Though as he scratched his head and looked up and down the crowded walkways he realized his friends were now out of sight. He was just with them just a moment ago but when he trailed behind to check out a booth selling cheesy merchandise from England he was unintentionally left behind. They had to be around here somewhere Touta determined as he turned down a different aisle and began walking in the direction he believed lead toward the games. As he reached the end of the row he realized that he was marching in the exact opposite direction and found himself standing near one of the side entrances.

"Dang it," Touta sighed as he pulled out his phone.

He was trying to avoid using his phone as the battery was now almost dead. A problem he wouldn't have if he had listed to Eva and charged his phone before he left for the festival like she told him to. Should have. Could have. But didn't. Flipping open his phone he found the first name of his friends down in his chat window and began to type out his SOS.

Mid message he just happened to spare a glance toward the exit and the parents with smaller children leaving and the young adults and teens entering, probably to catch the firework show that would be happening right after sundown.

One person instantly grabbed his attention that kept him from sending his message. A girl who looked to be around his age, maybe a little younger since she was almost a head shorter, stood just outside the entrance next to the road. She looked quite distressed as she glanced far down the street before crossing her arms apprehensively. She was a lovely girl with pale skin and long black hair tied in a side ponytail that fell to her waist. Though Touta found it odd that she was wearing a professional looking black slacks and white shirt with a long black trench coat to conceal her body. It didn't look bad, but she defiantly stood out against the more casual atmosphere that a countryside festival had.

Touta decided that he needed to see if he could help her in some way so he closed his phone and approached the teenage girl. He would catch up with his friends in a bit.

"Hey," Touta said as he put on an easy carefree smile. The girl whipped her head around toward him in surprise, her long side pony tail arching around her as she did so. "Are you okay?"

The girl eyed him suspiciously with a tight frown before turning away and giving him the cold shoulder as she watched cars pass on the road. "I'm fine, thank you."

"Really," Touta asked as he stepped forward. "Cuz you don't look fine to me… Are you from one of the surrounding villages? I've never seen you around before."

The girl sighed and continued to look down the road. "No."

"Okay… So are you visiting some relatives here or something?"

"No."

Touta rested his chin on his fist as he silently analyzed her thinking she was being awfully tight lipped. Maybe she thought he was being a creep and was trying to hit on her. That made sense he supposed. Touta nodded to himself as he decided that he would attempt to make his pure intentions clear if she was indeed misinterpreting him.

"Listen, I'm not trying to hit on you or anything if that's what you think. You just look like you're in trouble and I honestly want to help you out. I mean… It's not like I don't think you're a super pretty girl or anything, because you are, but that has nothing to do with me wanting to help or anything!"

The girl finally turned back toward him and although she was blushing profusely she was also obviously fuming, but for the life of him Touta couldn't guess why.

"I am NOT a girl," she shouted loudly with her fists clenched.

Touta starred back in shock for a moment.

"What? Really?"

"Yes really," she shouted back.

"But… you're so pretty," he stated matter of fact.

"I. Am. Not. A. Girl," the apparently not girl shouted between very powerful punches to Touta's arm.

"Ouch! Okay, I get it. I'm sorry," Touta cried out as he was assaulted.

The stranger backed off and began to massage his temples in annoyance.

"Man, you pack a serious punch. I'm super impressed," Touta said as he rubbed his sore arm. "Now that we got that out of the way are you going to tell me what's wrong now?"

"You're annoyingly persistent. Do you realize that?"

Touta laughed and held out a hand. "Trust me, you are not the first one to tell me that. I'm Touta Konoe by the way."

The long haired boy sighed and accepted his hand shake. "Kuroumaru Tokisaka."

"Well Kuroumaru, it's nice to meet you. Did you come here for the festival?"

"No, I had some business nearby and my escort and I stopped across the street to fill up on gas before heading back to Tokyo. I stepped out for just a second because I wanted to get a better look at what all the people were about and," Kuroumaru trailed off and frowned deeply as he glanced up the road that lead out of town. "Well," he said looking back towards Touta. "The person I was traveling with… accidently… left me behind."

"Eh, you got left? Well that stinks. I'm sure they'll realize it soon enough and head back. How long have you been waiting?"

Kuroumaru paused as he glanced down. "Three hours…"

"Eh," Touta shouted in surprise. "Three hours? They must practically be to Tokyo by now. How has he not realized you're not with him?"

"I typically keep pretty quiet. We can go the whole trip without saying a word to each other."

"Seriously? That's a little weird… Have you tried calling him?"

Kuroumaru shook his head. "I don't have a phone."

"You can use mine then," Touta said as he offered over his phone. "It's almost dead though so you'll have to be quick."

Kuroumaru took the phone with a quick thanks and slid it open before quickly dialing a number. He turned and took a couple of steps away as he pressed the phone to his ear and waited of the other line to pick up.

"Ah, Big Brother," Kuroumaru said. "I know, I'm sorry for interrupting you but I have a big problem… Well that is the problem. I'm not with him right now." There was a long pause where Kuroumaru's elder brother was speaking. Touta couldn't make out what was being said but it was visibly making Kuroumaru upset. "I'm sorry! It's my fault. I got out of the car without telling him and before I knew it he was driving down the road. I've been waiting but he hasn't returned yet… No, I'm not with the police. Someone lent me a phone. Yes… Yes, I'll stay put."

Kuroumaru deeply sighed as he shakily handed the phone back over to Touta. Touta deeply frowned, he didn't know the other half of the conversation but Kuroumaru was looking terrified. He must have a very scary older brother.

"Thank you for letting me use your phone. My brother is contacting my escort and he should be coming back to pick me up in the next few hours."

"That's good," Touta responded as he watched Kuroumaru turn back to the road and stare off into the distance. "What are you doing?"

Kuroumaru turned to him and raised a delicate eyebrow. "I'm waiting for my ride," he stated obviously.

"Geez, you're just going to stand here for three hours?"

"What else am I supposed to do?"

Touta rolled his eyes. "Well, I dunno, it's not like there's a festival going on behind us or anything."

"Uhh… I'm not too sure."

"I know it's not that fancy but it's a pretty big deal in these parts. There's a bunch of games somewhere in there and there's a stand that sells chocolate covered watermelon that's super good. If we have to wait three hours we might as well have fun while doing it."

Kuroumaru blushed a bit and turned away in embarrassment. "You would wait with me?"

"Of course, but preferable over there having fun," Touta said as he pointed to the festival over his shoulder with a wide smile. "We're friends now so I'm not about to ditch ya out here."

Kuroumaru smiled and took a few steps towards Touta. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to go in for just a little bit."

"That's the spirit," Touta shouted as he patted his new friend on the shoulder before grabbing his wrist and taking off onto the festival grounds. "Follow me. There are a lot of fun games I've been wanting to play since I got here."

"O-okay."

"Last year I spent forty bucks and all I was able to win was a stupid blow up hammer that popped before I even got it home. Yeah, I plan on doing way better this time. "

"If you say so," Kuroumaru laughed as he was drug along.

"I think the games are this way."

"You think? You mean you don't know?"

"Not really," Touta shouted back as he rounded a corner. "I just know it's in the opposite direction from where we just were."

"I'm not feeling all that secure about your directional skills…"

It took a few turn arounds and backtracking but the flashing lights and loud bells and whistles announced that they had finally arrived.

"Ha-ha! Found it."

"I feel that there was possibly more straight forward route than what we just took," Kuroumaru teased.

"Yeah probably, but it was pretty fun running around for a bit," Touta admitted as he excitedly glanced around at all the games. "Hey let's do the bottles first."

They both walked up to the stall where down a few rows were milk bottles stacked on top of each other.

"Hey there young man," the person manning the booth said as they approached. "356¥ equals a chance to knock down the pins and win your pretty girlfriend there a prize."

"What? I'm not his-"

"Yeah okay," Touta said as he pulled his wallet from his back pocket, ignoring the shocked expression that passed over his new friend's face and slapped down the appropriate amount of money on the booth. Kuroumaru glared in Touta's direction. He was pretty sure he wasn't even listening fully to what that man just insinuated.

"Good luck buddy," wished the guy as he took the money and slid it into his apron.

"Watch this Kuroumaru," Touta said as he wound up his pitch at tossed it at the stacked bottles.

The ball hit the bottles with a strong force that sent most of them flying off the table. One of the two remaining bottles began to spin on its base before settling upward. Touta let out a frustrated sigh and banged his head on the booth.

"That was very good Touta," Kuroumaru said sympathetically. "You almost got all of them."

"Wanna try again? Try aiming a bit lower this time," the guy suggested as one of his helpers reset the bottles.

Without verbally responding Touta pulled out another 356¥, handed it over and picked up another ball. He threw the ball again a bit lower this time and struck the bottles. This time all but one fell. After a growl of frustration he pulled out more bills and passed it to the man.

"Maybe I'm throwing it too hard. It could be more of a technique thing than brute strength," Touta said as he prepared to throw.

"Touta, we might as well just buy a stuffed animal at this point. This is starting to feel like some kind of money scam."

"No, it's fine. I have it this time I swear," he said as he tossed the ball again. Once again all but one bottle fell leaving Touta disappointed.

"Come on," Kuroumaru said tugging at his arm. "Let's go try something else."

"Yeah… okay."

"Better luck next time," the guy said as he waved over a father and daughter who were going to try their luck next.

Touta sulked as he walked away while Kuroumaru patted his back awkwardly in an attempt to cheer him up. Glancing up Touta caught sight of the Jacob's ladder game and his face immediately lit up.

"Let's do that one next," Touta said with excitement as he pointed over. "That's where I won my prize last year!"

Kuroumaru nodded in agreement as he followed his trail over to the booth. This one had a good number of observers as they watched people try to fumble their way across a slightly inclined robe ladder in attempt to ring the bell at the end. So far it looked like everyone was falling about midway.

"How much to play," Touta asked as approached.

"950¥," a young woman said who worked there.

"Sure," Touta said as he passed over some money. "Are you ready to be amazed buddy?"

"Ready," Kuroumaru said with a huge smile and a thumbs up.

Touta walked to the start of the ladder and eyed the game as he mentally went over his winning strategy. He then grabbed the rungs and began to quickly cross the ladder which was swaying immensely with every step.

"My goodness," the woman who took the money said. "What terrible technique that kid has. Most would have fallen by now with the way he's fumbling across."

"But it looks like he's going to make it," Kuroumaru exclaimed as he clasped his hands together. "You can do it Touta," he cheered.

About that time the rope ladder spun and flipped Touta upside down. He was now visible struggling as he tried to make the last few rungs. Soon gravity won over and Touta dropped to the safety mattress below.

"Aww, you were so close," Kuroumaru said.

"That was just a warm up," Touta said as he fished out more money. "One more try. I can do it this time."

"It's your money," the woman said as she accepted the payment as Touta reset himself at the beginning.

Touta began his ascent again swaying very much the same way as his initial try. He was about midway through before the ladder flipped over again leaving him struggling upside down.

 _"No way am I embarrassing myself in front of Kuroumaru again,"_ Touta thought as he struggled to make the next move. _"I am not falling this time."_

Using all the strength he had he held onto the rungs and wrapped his legs around the ladder and he slowly and very awkwardly made his way up the ladder. He was now near the top but the bell he had to ring was inconveniently blocked be the ladder between. He tightened one of his hand around the rung and swung himself to the side while reaching for the bell with his other hand. He was worried that he wasn't going to make but internally sighed in relief as he felt the brass touch his hand and heard the bell ring before he fell to the mattress.

"He did it," Kuroumaru shouted with a thrust of his fist in the air.

"That kid has a lot of determination. I'll give him that. Alright, for winning you get to pick any prize from the wall," she said as Touta jogged over.

"Actually you pick one Kuroumaru."

"Me," Kuroumaru questioned with wide eyes. "Don't you want to pick out your own prize?"

"Well I plan on giving it to you anyways so you might as well pick out something you like."

"Oh no," Kuroumaru quickly responded before starting to mumble with a deep blush. "You won it you so should keep your prize and not waste it on someone like me."

"Don't be ridiculous and just pick something out already," Touta ordered with a smile.

Kuroumaru looked a bit unsure for a second before turning to the prize wall. He placed a finger to his chin as he glanced between the prizes that ranged from nerf guns to plush stuffed animals. Touta decidedly, and a bit confusingly, admitted that he thought his new friend looked very cute as he tried to mull over his decision.

"I'll take that," Kuroumaru said as he pointed to a stuffed animal of a white ermine.

"A stuffed animal, really?"

Kuroumaru blushed as the attendant retrieved the prize. "Did I make a bad decision? I knew I would mess it up."

"Not at all. It's pretty cute so it suites you."

"Wha-… Um… r-really," Kuroumaru stuttered as he turned away to hid his red face.

"Here you go sweetheart," the attendant said as she began to pass over the plush animal.

"Wait a sec," Touta said as he intercepted the doll and took it. Kuroumaru looked at him with a confused gaze. "It's just… I wanted to be the one who gave it to you," he clarified as he handed over the cute ermine doll.

Kuroumaru smiled as he took the offered present and held it in his arms. "Thank you Touta," he said quietly. "I love it."

Touta smiled triumphantly before he glanced behind Kuroumaru and spotted the group of school friends off in the distance playing some games. He was about to yell out to them before catching himself. Normally he would jump at the chance to show off new friends he made and would love hanging out in a large group but for some reason he felt that introducing Kuroumaru would somehow be the wrong move. Perhaps he was being selfish but he was having a lot of fun with _just_ Kuroumaru and wasn't quite ready for it to end yet.

"Is something wrong Touta," Kuroumaru questioned as he turned to glance behind him.

"It's… nothing," Touta said. "Hey, let's see what they have going on this way," Touta said as he led Kuroumaru in the direction opposite of his friends.

"Are you wanting to play any of these games," Touta asked as they walked along.

"I don't have any money on me," Kuroumaru admitted.

"That's okay. I have tons of birthday money left over so I don't mind spotting you if you see something."

"Really? Thanks. When was your birthday?"

"Last week. We had it at this small arcade downtown. It's probably nothing near what they have in the city but we still had a lot of fun. I really wish we knew each other then. I would have loved for you to have been there. Are you sixteen too?"

Kuroumaru shook his head. "Not yet, but I will be in three months. H-happy late birthday."

"Heh, thanks. Hey, maybe I can talk Eva into taking me to your birthday party. I mean… If you want me too."

Kuroumaru smiled. "That would be nice… but my family isn't really the birthday party type."

"Man, seriously? That sucks. What do you guys do then?"

"Nothing really. I sometimes get a present… sometimes I don't. It just depends."

"Well _I'll_ definitely be giving you a present. Oh! Even if you don't have a birthday party me and Eva can still go over and take you out or something. Have our own little birthday party."

Kuroumaru sadly smiled and looked down. "Maybe… Uh, who's this Eva person you keep talking about anyway," Kuroumaru asked, changing the topic.

"Eva? Well… It's a little complicated but she takes care of me. She was good friends with my parents and when they died in a car accident four years ago she took me in. I've been a pain in her side ever since."

Kuroumaru looked bothered as she frantically began to respond. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't know you lost your parents…"

"I know, it's okay. It sucks though. I hit my head pretty hard in the accident so my memories of them aren't what they should be…"

"… I lost my parents when I was young too," Kuroumaru shared. "I don't really remember then all that well either. What memories I do have are fuzzy almost like it was a dream… Um, my elder brother took over the primary responsibility of raising me after that."

"I guess we're kinda the same then, aren't we?"

"Yeah… I guess we are," Kuroumaru said with a sad smile.

"And wow, this conversation got depressing real fast. We need another fun game to play right now and you're going to play it with me this time. Oh look! A shooting game. Let's play the shooting game," Touta said in a hurry and jogged over to a booth with little moving duck targets.

Touta handed over a wad of money to the booth attendant who seemed to have cared less as she swiped at her phone. He picked up the pellet rifle while Kuroumaru stood solemnly to the side.

"These guns never fire straight so this should be interesting," Touta said as he aimed at the ducks.

Without taking her eyes off her phone the attendant pressed a button that activated to moving duck targets and started a fifteen second countdown. Touta began firing and missed the first two shots as he got a feel for the uncalibrated rifle. Once he got the hang of it he began to steadily hit the targets. He would try to hit the bonus fast moving target that won the big prize but he would settle for just getting the rest and winning something to take home for Eva.

He internally cheered as he hit the last normal target with a couple seconds to spare and turned his focus to the bonus duck. Firing ferociously at the bonus target Touta had no luck as he was always just hitting just behind it. The buzzer sounded signifying that he was out of time.

"Good job Touta," Kuroumaru said. "What are you going to get?"

"I'll take that fluffy bunny thing," Touta said as he pointed to an overly cutesy stuffed animal. The attendant handed it over. "Perfect. I think this is something Eva would like. She likes stuffed animals too. Well, you're turn Kuroumaru."

"Oh, um…" Kuroumaru passed his prize animal to Touta to pick up the gun and raised it toward the targets.

"It fires off just a bit to the left," Touta informed right before the countdown was activated, starting Kuroumaru's round.

Touta was both surprised and impressed as Kuroumaru was effectively and smoothly hitting each target with quick ease. Looking at Kuroumaru's face it seemed like each shot was as easy as breathing.

"Wow," Touta exclaimed as Kuroumaru finished of his session with hitting the bonus target, not having wasted a single shot in the process.

Kuroumaru lowered his gun and waited as the last seconds on the clock counted down. He strangely didn't seem to be overly excited that he just demolished this game. Touta would just be excited for him.

"That was totally awesome," Touta yelled out as he gave Kuroumaru a side hug. "You totally kicked my butt. You're a real crack shot."

"Thanks," Kuroumaru said as he laid the gun on the table.

"Where did you learn to shoot like that?"

Kuroumaru glanced at the ground with a tight frown. "My brother taught me," he said in a small voice.

"T-that's neat," Touta said uneasily. He was a bit confused about what was going on because Kuroumaru now looked like to be on the brink of tears.

"I don't want to do this anymore," Kuroumaru whispered to himself.

"Yeah… okay," Touta quickly said as he wrapped a friendly arm around Kuroumaru and led him away from the tables, not caring about the prize that was one.

"Geez that last distraction failed miserably and seemed to make you even sadder so," Touta said as he looked around. "Hey, do you like roller coasters?"

"I've never been on one before," Kuroumaru admitted with a shrug.

Touta laughed. "I'm somehow not surprised. Let's go on the roller coaster and after that it should be almost sundown and they'll start the firework show."

"Okay."

The specified roller coaster was a fair good size considering that it was made to be able to be slapped together and torn apart quickly to be moved from event to event. It only had four carts for people to sit in so the line was moving a rather slowly.

"Is that safe," Kuroumaru asked as they got in line.

"Sure it is," Touta responded. "They wouldn't let people ride it if it wasn't."

"If you say so…"

Touta laughed as he looked over his friend who had become a bit withdrawn. He had his arms crossed tightly and seemed smaller than earlier when they were having fun before the target shooting incident. He wanted to use this time get to know Kuroumaru more and wanted to take this moment to ask a thousand things about him. But he would have to keep the conversation on light happy things. Right as Touta opened his mouth to say something Kuroumaru flicked his big brown eyes towards him and his mouth suddenly went dry.

"Ahh," Touta sputtered as he trailed off and turned away, mentally slapping himself. He really hope he couldn't see how red his face was right now.

"Are you alright Touta?"

"I'm fine," he quickly said, avoiding visual contact.

The next ten minutes was spent in an awkward silence. At least for Touta in was awkward. Whenever he nervously took a chance to glance in Kuroumaru's direction he seemed to be content to just silently wait. Eventually they made it to the front of the line and they were able to score the first cart.

The two teenagers took a seat on the small coaster and strapped themselves in. Kuroumaru looked over to Touta with a smile as he grabbed onto the railing. Touta returned his smile and hoped that this would be something that he would enjoy. After the safety checks were made to make sure everyone was secured the roller coaster began to slowly roll forward and began to make the steady incline before the first big drop.

"Here it comes," Touta said as the coaster began to go over the arch.

"Is it supposed to be shaking this much," Kuroumaru said with an uneasy vibrato.

"Sure is!"

Kuroumaru made a very girly squeak as the coaster quickly began its descent before taking a sharp turn at the bottom. Touta glanced toward Kuroumaru who was gritting his teeth and grabbing onto the rail for dear life.

"Hey," Touta shouted getting his attention. "Lift up your arms," he finished as threw up his arms and let out a loud holler.

Kuroumaru pulled his hands of the railing for a split second before grabbing back on and shaking his head quickly. That was something that apparently wasn't going to happen. He looked like he was anticipating being thrown out of his seat at a second's notice. The ride slowed for a bit as it began another ascent for the last dip.

"This is horrible," Kuroumaru shouted. "How is this a thing?"

"Are you kidding? This is great! We're about to go down again."

"Oh great," he said before squeezing his eyes shut.

As they both reached the top of the mound the coaster inched to a stop. Touta frowned in confusion as he glanced around. They should have gone down by now… He looked over to the operator's station and saw that he was shouting into his walkie talkie.

"Uh-oh," Touta said as he turned to Kuroumaru who was still holding his eyes shut in anticipation. "Uh… Kuroumaru?"

"What?"

"I think we're stuck."

"What," Kuroumaru shouted as his eyes popped open. "What do you mean we're stuck?"

"As in we're not moving stuck.

"B-but I thought you said this was safe?"

"We're not in any danger, I think. I'm sure the engineer will get us moving again in no time."

"But what if they don't? What if were stuck up here for hours? And what if my escort shows up and I'm not there waiting for him? I'm going to be in so much trouble…"

"You'll be fine," Touta reassured. "Look at it this way. The sun just went down right?"

Kuroumaru looked at him questioningly and nodded.

"Well, the way I see it is that we managed to grab the best seats in the festival," he finished as he turned to the sky expectantly.

Kuroumaru tilted his head to the side as he looked at Touta quizzically. He opened his mouth to protest until a loud boom stole his attention. The firework show had begun and an onslaught of bright explosions filled the sky.

"Wow," Kuroumaru hummed in amazement as he started up into the multicolored sky with a graceful smile.

Touta watched the sky for a little bit but felt his gaze being pulled to his side to where the long haired boy sat in awe beside him. As he felt his heart begin to beat faster he admitted internally that Kuroumaru looked absolutely beautiful. A thought that was causing him to feel very conflicted and confused. He was definitely attracted to him. Which was a scary thought. Was he gay? He never had any attraction for another male up until tonight. Bi maybe?

Okay, he liked Kuroumaru. But what was he going to do about it? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. He was just going to push those feeling deep down and never ever mention them to anyone. Ever… But he couldn't help but wonder how Kuroumaru felt. Would he be disgusted at the thought of having a guy having a crush on him?

He glanced down at Kuroumaru's hand that was resting between them. Maybe he would just test the waters a bit and see what happed. If he reacts badly to his plan he could easily play it off as a simple accident.

Touta looked up at the sky as the firework show continued and slowly put his hand next to Kuroumaru's with his far two fingers resting over his. Touta instantly noted that Kuroumaru's hand felt incredibly soft and warm. And… Kuroumaru hadn't pulled away yet so that was maybe a good sign… Touta took a shaky breath as he mustered the courage to slyly glance over. Kuroumaru didn't really seem to be watching the fireworks anymore and was just kind of staring off in front of him with wide eyes and a beet red face.

Taking it another step further Touta moved his hand slowly over until it rested fully over Kuroumaru's hand. In turn Kuroumaru bit his bottom lip and moved his other hand to his chest to begin to fiddle with his jacket's collar. Okay, he wasn't going to take another step. It would be hard enough to explain this if Kuroumaru decidedly confronted him on it. So he would just awkwardly sit here with his hand over his…

Touta's heart nearly jumped out of his chest as he felt Kuroumaru's hand shift. He supposed this was the end of it but was happily surprised when all Kuroumaru did was turn his hand over to where their palms were touching each other. Touta pressed his fingers between Kuroumaru's until they were now laced together. A wide smile spread across Touta's face as he slightly squeezed the hand in his.

The sudden lurch of the cart sliding forward and dropping sharply caused Kuroumaru to cry out in shock and fling into Touta's arms. The coaster quickly circled around the last bend and slowed to a stop. All those who were stuck on the coaster quickly unbuckled their belts and piled out, thankful for their unplanned situation was over. Kuroumaru finally released his long breath and pushed away and covered his face in embarrassment.

"I'm sorry!"

Touta laughed and gently pulled Kuroumaru's hands down and ran his thumbs over Kuroumaru's knuckles. "For what?"

Kuroumaru lowered his gaze down to their clasped hands and smiled shyly.

"Um… Touta?"

"Yeah?"

"I think they're wanting us to get out of the cart now…"

"Huh," Touta said as he snapped back into reality and now noticed the engineers giving the two teenagers annoyed looks. He quickly but reluctantly released Kuroumaru's hands and began to fumble to release his seatbelt. "Right, sorry guys."

They quickly exited the ride platform and began to make their way back to the exit where Kuroumaru's escort would be soon to take him home. Touta casually rested his hand on the back of his head as he watched Kuroumaru who had retrieved his stuffed animal from his jacket pocket and was holding it tightly in both arms. He wanted to be holding hands again but wasn't sure how to go about it smoothly.

"So, uh, Kuroumaru," Touta began. Kuroumaru's face lit up and he could tell that he was still embarrassed from what happened on the roller coaster.

"Y-yes," Kuroumaru quietly said.

"About… What happened earlier? Um… I wasn't making you uncomfortable, was I?"

Kuroumaru was silent for a moment as he processed Touta's question and how to respond.

"I… suppose in a way it did but," Kuroumaru paused again mid-sentence and smiled at the memory. "It was a nice uncomfortable though."

"That makes me happy to hear. So… Do you want to hold hands some more?"

Somehow Kuroumaru's face managed to turn a deeper shade of red as he slowly lowered the arm that was closest towards Touta.

"Y-yeah."

Touta knew that he was blushing profusely as well when he took Kuroumaru's hand in his once again. They probably looked like smiling red faced idiots as they walked down the festival's walkways together but he didn't care. Before reaching the exit Touta bought them both the iconic chocolate covered watermelons that were a staple food item every year. As they neared the gate Touta caught sight of a photo booth.

"We have to take our picture," Touta exclaimed as he motioned toward the photo booth.

Kuroumaru turned to where he motioned while biting off a piece of watermelon.

"I would love to have a picture of you," Kuroumaru said with a smile.

"Same here," Touta said as together they walked over. "We'll have to take two sets. One for me and one for you."

They piled into an open booth and took a series of three pictures for each person. Most were goofy poses but each had one photo where they were just relaxed. Touta smiled at the printed pictures that he claimed before folding it up and putting it in his pocket. Grabbing Kuroumaru's hand again, this time with much more familiarity, they both left the festival grounds and found a bench to sit on while the waited.

"How's the watermelon," Touta questioned as he tossed his rind into an overflowing trashcan a bit away.

"It's delicious," Kuroumaru said with a sad frown.

"What's wrong? I thought we were having a good time."

"I was! I mean I am! It's just… Tonight's been perfect. You've… been perfect."

Touta gave her a heartfelt smile. "If tonight's been so perfect why do you look so sad?"

"It's just that," Kuroumaru began as tears started puckering from his eyes. He was even a beautiful crier, Touta noted. "It's been so perfect that I'm afraid that it's all just been a dream and that when I have to leave I'll wake up and find that none of this every really happened…"

After a quick stilling breath Touta suddenly leaned in and gave Kuroumaru a short chaste kiss, noting the taste of chocolate and watermelon still on his lips. His new favorite flavor. When he pulled away Kuroumaru was looking at him in pure shock. Touta was almost afraid he had went too far and broke him.

"Will you be my boyfriend," Touta asked quickly, raising his voice in his nervousness.

"You're boyfriend," Kuroumaru squeaked as he pressed his fingers against his freshly kissed lips, reeling that that had been his first.

"I promise this isn't a dream. And if you let me I want to keep seeing you."

"I-I… I just don't know if," Kuroumaru stuttered as he seemed to have a frantic internal debate.

"Do you even want to be my boyfriend," Touta asked a little worried.

"Yes," Kuroumaru shouted with certainty but then instantly felt embarrassed with the outburst. "I mean… yes. I do want and will be your boyfriend."

Touta laughed and enveloped Kuroumaru in a tight embrace. "Now I feel like I'm the one who's dreaming," he joked. "We need to exchange numbers. I can't believe I almost forgot. Ugh, I hate that my phone's dead. I need a pen!"

"Here, I have one," Kuroumaru said as he pulled the item from his pocket.

"Perfect. What's your home number and I'll call you tomorrow-"

"No," Kuroumaru shouted. "I mean. No, you won't be able to reach me on my home number. Here, write your number on the back of our picture," Kuroumaru said as he handed Touta the picture they took earlier. "Are you okay with me calling you early in the early morning?"

"How early in the morning," Touta questioned as he wrote his number down.

"I should be able to use the phone and not be caught around 3:00 am… Most everyone should be asleep by then and the line should be clear"

"Three… in the morning," Touta repeated. What was with the weird time? But if that was the only time he could talk he would take it. "3:00 am it is. I'll be by my phone waiting."

Kuroumaru smiled as he took back his picture with Touta's number on the back and put it back in his pocket.

"My ride should be here any moment. I'll get in trouble if I'm seen talking with you so we should probably say our goodbyes now."

Touta groaned in annoyance as he reached over and wrapped his arms around Kuroumaru again and happily felt Kuroumaru's arms wrap around him in turn.

"I'm going to miss you," Touta said. "But I will talk to you tomorrow morning at 3:00 am."

Kuroumaru nodded in the crook of Touta's neck. "I'll talk to you tomorrow," he confirmed.

Kuroumaru sighed and pulled away before standing up. He seemed to have timed it perfectly because soon a very non descriptive black vehicle pulled up and a large, scary looking guy in a suit got out of the driver's seat. He looked very displeased as he circled the car and roughly opening the door for Kuroumaru who silently entered. The door was slammed shut behind him and the man got back into the driver's seat and drove away.

* * *

While sipping on her glass of scotch on the rocks Eva casually sat on her couch and watched the evening news. The news station was currently going crazy over a senseless murder of a rich family that had recently moved into the country from the city. Due to her previous line of work she knew that there was a deeper cause but nothing she concerned herself with now.

"I'm home," Touta said as he walked through the door.

"Welcome home," Eva said before taking another sip of her drink.

"Here," Touta said as he tossed her the small stuffed bunny.

Eva looked at it and smiled. "Thanks kid. Is this all you were able to get this year though? And you were talking so big before you left."

"Well… I did win something else but I sorta," Touta trailed off while a blush rose to his face.

Eva arched her fine eyebrow as she eyed him suspiciously. "You what?"

"I kind of gave it to my new… boyfriend."

Eva known she must have misunderstood him. "You mean your new girlfriend," she asked to clarify.

"No… My _boy_ friend."

Eva looked at him quizzically. "But you're not gay."

"That's what I thought too but apparently I'm into very very… very very very pretty boys."

"Uh… huh," Eva was very confused. If Touta was gay she would be fine with that but she was certain that she would have noticed _some_ signs before tonight.

"Here," Touta said as he fished something from his back pocket. "We took some pictures. This is what he looks like. His name's Kuroumaru Tokisaka."

He handed her the photo booth pictures he had taken earlier. Eva took the picture strip and looked over it. They both seemed pretty happy as they posed for the camera but something seemed very off…

"Touta," Eva sighed as she placed a hand on her hip. "This is a girl."

"That's what I thought at first too but he very adamantly said he was a boy. I'm pretty sure I have the bruises to show it too."

"Well," Eva said as she gave the photos back to Touta. "He's very attractive none the less. Where does he live?"

Touta sighed. "Tokyo."

"Ouch."

"I know but I've already planned it out in my head. I plan on getting my license soon and instead of blowing all my money on the arcade I can use it to borrow the car from the most amazing wonder person in the world so I can visit him with my allowance money."

Eva let out a laugh that nearly resembled a witch's cackle. "Touta there is no way in hell I'm going to let you drive to Tokyo by yourself just so you can visit your 'boy'friend."

"Seriously!? Eva come on please."

"No~o."

"Please please please please-"

"Dear god," Eva said as she massaged her temple while Touta continued his persistent buzzing. "I'm going to need more booze for this."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: So, I've decided that all I want to do with this story it will stretch beyond just two or three chapters. I still don't plan for it to be a particularly long story but there are some things I want to add to make it more... well you'll see.

Also, since Touta's friends are annoyingly unnamed I'm having to put in placeholder names. When they are eventually named, as I'm sure they will be, I'll update them. Here's a list of my placeholder names to their corresponding attributes Touta says they're good at in Volume 2. Chapter 10. If you run them through Google translate you can see how horribly unoriginal I am.

Cooking: Nikumaru (The only one I saw named)

Singing: Kashu

Mechanics: Shoku

Writing: Sakka

UQ Summer

By. Amnesy

The blaring chirping alarm drew Touta out of his deep sleep. Blindly he wiped his hand through his twisted sheets and comforter until he found the infernal digital device and with a quick swipe he silenced it. Slowly he pushed himself into a sitting position and let out a deep, groggy yawn. Glancing at the face of his phone he saw that it was almost 3am and he had about ten minutes before Kuroumaru promised to call him. He crawled out of bed and shuffled out of his room, navigating down the dark hallway until he made his way to the bathroom. After relieving himself went to the sing and splashed some cold water on his face in attempt to wake himself before making his way back to his bed.

Jumping on his bed he was feeling a bit more awake and now was just waiting for Kuroumaru. Grabbing for his phone again he pulled up one of his many time waster games and began playing. It was simple so it was easy for his mind to wonder.

He couldn't wait for him to call. His heart was already starting to beat faster in anticipation and admittedly some nervousness. He's only liked one other person this much and honestly didn't have that much experience dating. Sure, he's dated a few girls in the past but none ever lasted very long. He was more of a flirt than anything. After he got past his awkward preteen years where he struggled to even hold conversations with girls he discovered that he was actually quite skilled at getting them to like him but rarely did anything past said innocent flirting. Eva always says that being a Casanova was in his genes and he had to admit that flirting was quite fun.

Touta closed his game and starred at the clock on his phone as it finally it rolled over to 3am. Almost right on the dot he saw 'Private Number' pop up on his display. Knowing who was on the other line he quickly answered. "Good morning," Touta greeted cheerfully. "G-good morning," Kuroumaru greeted in a hushed tone. "How are you?"

"I'm... fine."

"Thanks for calling. I couldn't wait to talk to you again. So, were you in a lot of trouble when you got home?"

"Um.. yes. I'm actually not supposed to be out of my room right now. If I get caught my brother will be very angry with me."

"Oh, you're the rebellious type? I like it," Touta said with a smile. He heard Kuroumaru stifle a giggle on the other end.

"I'm far from rebellious," Kuroumaru admitted. "Typically I try and do exactly as I'm told."

"Man, it sounds like your brother is super strict."

"Oh, he is. I'm always messing something up and making him mad. Really, I'm no good at all."

"What are you talking about? You're amazing."

"Oh... um," Touta could hear Kuroumaru shift. "I... I think you're amazing Touta."

Touta smiled and laid back to make himself more comfortable...

 **30 min later**

"Sure, okay. Oh! I know. Tomorrow I'm going over to my friends Shoku's house to help him build a new computer system."

"That sounds like fun. It must be nice having friends to spend your time with."

"What are your friends like?"

"My friends," Kuroumaru repeated back, seemingly a bit surprised by the question.

"Sure, I'm sure someone like you has loads of friends from school."

"Oh... I don't go to school. I have a private tutor come teach me."

"That's... neat. I guess. You do have someone to hang out with though, right?"

"Well, I do have a few cousins that are around my age but they're really not supposed to talk to me."

"What do you mean they're not supposed to talk to you," Touta asked. Something about that sounded really messed up. "Is there some kind of family feud going on or something?"

"No, it's nothing like that. Um... Can we talk about something else? Tell me more about your friends."

"Kuroumaru..."

"Please?"

Touta sighed and decided to let it go for now.

 **2 hours later**

"All five of us went flying into the pond, completely and embarrassingly defeated. Everyone who was watching was laughing their asses off. It was horrible! Anyways, Eva gave us all detention for a week."

Kuroumaru tried his best to hold in his laughter at the story. "From how you speak of her it's hard to picture her as your teacher too."

"Right," Touta agreed as he yawned deeply.

"You must be tired. It is really late, isn't it."

"It's fine," Touta quickly said. He didn't want to stop talking to him.

"I need to go anyway. People start getting up around this time so I need to get back to my room."

"Oh... right. But we can talk tomorrow night too, right? Same time?"

"Yes, goodnight Touta."

"Goodnight," Touta said with the line going dead shortly after.

Touta sighed and dropped his phone next to him. Somehow he would just have to make it until then. He pulled his blanket over him and adjusted his pillow and smiled as he went over his recent conversation until he fell asleep.

* * *

Eva pulled out the eggs from the fridge and set them on the kitchen counter, intending to cook her and Touta a couple of omelets for breakfast. She turned the stove on and sat the skillet on the burner. While waiting for the skillet to heat up she poured herself a large cup of coffee and began sipping on the bitter drink when Touta slugged his way into the kitchen. He yawned deeply and muttered a tired good morning to Eva before opening the fridge and grabbing the orange juice.

"You okay," Eva asked as Touta lethargically opened the cabinet and pulled out a glass.

"Yeah, just didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"Really," Eva asked with a raised eyebrow. "Because you went to bed strangely early last night."

"Ah, well. Kuroumaru's grounded so we can only talk when everyone over at his place is sleeping." Touta noticed the heated skillet on the burner and pointed. "I hope you're not going to try and cook eggs on that."

"Yeah, why?"

"You have it too hot. You're going to burn everything again. I'll cook," Touta said as he turned down the burner and took over.

"And how late did you stay up then?"

"Uh," Touta said as he considered it. "Let's see. We started at three so... two in a half, almost three hours."

"Geez, what in the world could you kids talk about for so long?"

"A bunch of nothing really. I mostly did all the talking. He's really quiet. I told him about my friends, school, you of course."

"Oh great. You didn't make me sound like an old hag again, did you?

"You are an old hag," Touta said bluntly as he flipped over the first omelet with skill.

Eva frowned at him. "Just remember who pays for your internet and video games."

Touta snickered. "What I meant to say was how amazing, beautiful and smart you are. Unending praises I sing for you."

"That's better."

"But seriously, I can't wait for you to meet him. Can we please go down there before school starts?"

"I'll think about it. It's a long drive to just to visit someone."

"I know but I just can't help it."

"The two of you have been dating for less than two days. Take it easy," Eva said as Touta provided her with a well made omelet and sat down with his own.

"You don't think my friends will think it's weird? Me dating another boy?"

"Well... It's definitely unexpected, but if they truly are your friends they ll accept it. Though be prepared for them to be immature about it. Especially Kashu, I swear that boys not all there..."

Touta laughed as he began to dig into his food.

* * *

Roughly a week had passed and Touta was trying his best to fall asleep so he could wake up early to make his nightly phone date with Kuroumaru. It was hard waking up for a few hours each night but it was worth it to talk with his boyfriend. Even when they ran out of things to talk about Touta loved just sitting on the phone with him. The other day when they ran out of topics Kuroumaru just started reading "Spring Snow", by Mishima Yukio aloud. It was a pretty popular book but one he had never read. Listening to Kuroumaru read was a bit too relaxing for Touta and eventually he passed out, but it was nice while it lasted.

It was starting to get late and Touta knew he had to get to sleep soon or he would be garbage when it was time to wake up. He sat up in his bed and stared out the window trying to think. His mind wondered over to something that always relaxed him enough to where he would mostly likely be able to go asleep soon after. After finally deciding he threw the blankets off him and went to his bedroom door and locked it.

He circled around his bed and sat down at his computer, taking it out of sleep mode. He put his computer into incognito mode and went to a website he was most definitely not supposed to be on. After lying and clocking the button, claiming to be over the age of eighteen he preceded to the adult site and began scrolling through the video selection. As a quick afterthought he grabbed his phone and connected to his wireless speakers and began to loudly play some music. He then found a porn video of an attractive couple and began to play it. It wasn't very hardcore porn but it was more than enough to do what he needed to. Touta pulled out his penis from his boxers and quietly began to masturbate. It was awkward doing this while Eva was just in the other room but sometimes you just have to do what you have to do.

After reaching his climax he grabbed some tissues that were sitting on his computer table and began to clean himself up as he caught his breath.

"I wonder if having sex with Kuroumaru would be anything like that," Touta internally questioned. "Wait, if we're both boys it would be different. What does Kuroumaru look like naked anyway..."

Touta bit his lip nervously and moved his cruiser to change the preferences of the site. A new range of thumbnail pictures filled the screen. Touta tiled his head as he glanced at them. After taking a breath he pulled one up and watched as two men began to make out and fondle each other.

"Uh..."

Touta continued watching as things quickly escalated to more sexual actions. Closing his eyes he began picturing him and Kuroumaru doing the things he had just seen. Kuroumaru probably had smooth pale skin all over and was fit. Touta gulped as he began to pleasure himself thinking of doing perverted things with his boyfriend. His breathing quickened as he became more and more lost in his perverted fantasy.

"Touta, I need you to-" came Eva's voice from outside the door.

Touta cursed as his bedroom door was forcibly opened and Eva barged right in. In panic mode he grabbed his computer screen and flung it to the side, although the sound was still playing painfully on.

"What the hell," Eva and Touta screamed at each other while he quickly put his junk away.

"What are you doing," Eva shouted, clearly knowing as her face was turning slightly read.

"Nothing!"

"You lock the door when you want to do stuff like that!"

"I did!"

Eva looked at the broken door frame and realized she lost track of her own strength.

"Ah... right. Well, let's just forget this ever happened," she said as she stepped out of the room and attempted to close the door. It popped back open slightly due to the busted frame and Eva tried to close it again. "I'll just get this fixed tomorrow."

Touta heard her say before he was left alone in his room with the loud rock music with the muffled sounds of gay porn in the background. He pushed his desk chair in front of the door to keep it shut and force shut his computer, not wanting to see what was still playing on his screen before he retrieved it from the ground.

After what just happened fully sunk in he threw himself into bed and buried his head in his pillows in complete disbelief. That did not just happen, he internally moaned.

* * *

Touta woke by his set alarm and pulled himself out of bed. Moving the chair blocking the door he navigated through the dark house until he reached the front room. He stretched and calculated how many more minutes until Kuroumaru would call. He turned on the TV and began scanning through the guide while he waited. After a bit he checked his phone and noted that Kuroumaru was late in calling him tonight. Something that was strange as he was practically to the very second ... Though nobody was perfect so he would let his boyfriend's tardiness slide this time and only give him minor grief once he did manage call. Touta continued mulling over the channels. Though early morning TV sucked he was able to settle on a show about how toothpicks were made. Thinking that was good enough he sat the remote on the coffee table and sprawled out on the couch, making himself more comfortable. After a couple of commercial breaks he checked his phone again and saw that Kuroumaru was now twenty minutes late.

"Come on man, what's taking so long?"

That twenty minutes turned into an hour and quickly turned into two. Irrationally he was afraid that Kuroumaru somehow knew that he masturbated earlier while thinking about him and was too disgusted to call him. But maybe he was sick of being his boyfriend and didn't want to talk to him at all now. Rationally he tried to convince himself that Kuroumaru was probably just sleeping and he was just reading too much into it. This didn't help him much and his thoughts went from bad scenario to bad scenario. Touta stayed up hoping that Kuroumaru would call unexpectedly but as he waited and waited until eventually the lights flicked on.

"You're still up," Eva questioned in annoyance as she placed a hand on her hip.

Touta groaned and banged his head on the plush backing of the couch.

* * *

"Come on. Stop moping around. You're depressing," Kashu said as he used the kiosk to put more money on his arcade card.

"It wouldn't be as bad if I just knew why he stopped talking to me all of a sudden. It's been a week and... nothing!"

"Sorry to break it to you man but he's probably just wussed out and is doing that thing shitty people do where they break up without saying anything and just shut you out. That happened to me before but you get over it."

"Kuroumaru wouldn't do that. Something's wrong. I just know it. I just wish I knew how to get a hold of him."

"Don't you think that him not giving you any contact information was suspicious," Sakka asked while he sipped on his soda.

"Kuroumaru said that he can't have people to call him because his brother runs a business out of the home and he can't be on the line. Plus, his brother is super traditional and wouldn't approve of Kuroumaru dating me."

Sakka silently shook his head but didn't press further.

"Sorry, I have no wisdom to give you but here," Nikumaru said as he handed Touta a gaming card. "I have enough to get you through 'Carnevil.' Maybe killing your way through a horde of zombie clowns will help take your mind off things."

Touta smiled as he accepted the gift. "Thanks. You'll help me though, right?"

"Pwsh, of course. Can't let you face the legion of the dead alone."

The two friends made their way to the shooting arcade game and started it up. A couple of levels in they were both going strong and Touta had to admit that he was having fun.

"Hey, can I fight this boss," Sakka asked. "It's my favorite."

"Yeah sure," Touta said as he passed the gun while the cut scene played. "I need a drink anyway.

"Thanks."

Touta walked to concession stand and bought and overpriced fountain drink. He was about to head back over to watch his friends play until he felt his phone vibrating in his pocket. Pulling out his phone he saw it wasn't a number he recognized. He thought about choosing to 'ignore' it but decided to go ahead and answer out of curiosity.

"Hello?"

"Touta?"

The familiar voice on the other line put him on full alert.

"Kuroumaru," Touta shouted as he began to rush to the exit so he could listen away from the noisy arcade.

"Where have you been? I've been so worried. Are you okay?"

"I'm... fine."

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear your voice. I-"

"Touta," Kuroumaru interrupted. "I'm sorry but I don't have long to speak. Can I ask you a huge favor?"

"Of course. Anything- ask away."

"Could I... Stay with you for a little bit?"

"S-stay with me?"

"I know it's short notice so I understand if-"

"Of course," Touta shouted in excitement. He could hear Kuroumaru let out a breath of relief.

"Really?"

"Yeah, when?"

"I'm not too sure. I'm pretty far so it will most likely be around seven, maybe eight."

"No problem. I'll take care of everything. This will be great! I can't-"

Touta made the sound he makes when he stubs his toe on his bed frame.

"Hey, you okay?"

"I'm fine," he said quickly. "I'm sorry Touta but I have to go. I'll see you tonight."

With that Kuroumaru hung up the phone leaving Touta happy and confused all at the same time. He smiled from ear to ear hearing from Kuroumaru again and finding out that he would be seeing him tonight. He rushed back into the arcade to tell his friends that he had to leave to prepare for his guest.

* * *

Eva finished arranging the decorative pillows on the couch and gave them a final pat down to keep them from looking too stiff. She glanced over at Touta who was once again checking out the dark window. With a roll of her eyes she grabbed the small grocery bag full of trash and began to walk to the kitchen to throw it away.

"You could help clean, you know? Since this is your guest that you invited to stay without checking it with me."

"Sorry," Touta said as he dropped the curtain. "I'm just so excited that he's coming over. It feels like ages since I've seen him last."

"That's nice, go put the vacuum away."

Touta groaned but complied and walked over the vacuum cleaner that was set to the side of the front room and began to improperly and messily wrap the cord around the handle. Once done he began to drag it to the vacuum cleaners home in the closet. He got distracted by the doorbell finally ringing and he left the vacuum where it was in the middle of the front room and took off for the door.

"He's here," he shouted and swung open the door in excitement. "Oh," Touta said gloomily as he saw that it was just the middle aged pizza guy.

"Here you go kid, enjoy."

"Thanks," Touta said as he took the pizzas. He glanced toward the street and saw a cab pull up in front of his house. "That's him," he said as he pushed the pizzas back on the delivery guy and ran across the lawn.

Kuroumaru stepped out of the back of the cab and was immediately embraced by Touta who had just reached him.

"Ow," Kuroumaru cried out and Touta quickly dropped his arms from around Kuroumaru's upper back.

"I'm sorry, you okay?"

"I'm fine. I just hurt my side a bit," he said as he smiled and wrapped his own arms around Touta's waist and leaned his head on his shoulder. Touta in turn wrapped his arms around Kuroumaru, albeit much more gently this time. "I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too."

"Hey sweetheart," the taxi cab driver called out. "You haven't paid me."

"Right, sorry sir." Kuroumaru said as he pulled out his wallet. "How much do I owe you?

"160,849.62 ."

"Right, okay," he said as he pulled out a large amount of bills and passed it over.

"Shit," Touta muttered, catching that there was even more stuffed in the wallet.

"Have a good night," Kuroumaru said as he closed the door and swung his pack over his shoulder.

"Let me get that for you," Touta said as he took Kuroumaru's bag.

"Thank you."

"Now come on. I want you to meet Eva."

"Okay," Kuroumaru responded as Totua grabbed his hand and led him back to his house where Eva was waiting in the entryway.

"Eva," Touta said as he came to a stop. "This is Kuroumaru. Kuroumaru, Eva."

"Hey kid," Eva said with a sideways smirk.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Ms. McDowell," Kuroumaru said quietly as he politely bowed.

"Please don't do that," she laughed. "Eva works just fine."

"Y-yes... ma'am."

"Come inside and let me get a better look at you," Eva said as she moved out of the way so they could enter the house. "Just look at you," she continued once they were in and cupped Kuroumaru's chin, inspecting his face. "You are gorgeous. Those pictures don't do you justice. Well, I have to admit if I was a teenage boy I think I would go gay for you too."

"E-e-ecuse me," Kuroumaru shouted in a high pitched squeak as he became completely flushed.

"Oh my god! Why would you say that," Touta shouted as Eva laughed him off. "What's wrong with you?"

"I was just playing with you kids. Wow, you should have seen your faces. Seriously though Kuroumaru, welcome to our home. Let us know whatever we can do to make you comfortable during your stay."

Kuroumaru nodded but was still blushing like crazy.

"Let's go," Touta said as he lead Kuroumaru toward the front room and away from his crazy caretaker. "We got pizza and I rented that new zombie movie that's out."

Touta dropped Kuroumaru's bag behind the couch and pointed to where Kuroumaru could sit on the couch while he got everything set up. Eva followed behind and sat on the oversized chair nearby. She opened the pizza box on the coffee table and grabbed a paper plate.

"Have some pizza Kuroumaru," Eva offered as she pulled off a couple of slices and placed them on the paper plate, handing it over to the shy teenager.

"Oh... Um, thank you." Kuroumaru said as he subtly sniffed at the pizza before taking a small bite.

"All set," Touta said enthusiastically as he jumped on the couch next to Kuroumaru who bounced from the impact next to him.

Touta worked the PS4 controller until the movie started playing. He grabbed a slice of pizza from the box and took a bite.

"This movie looks horrible. I can't wait."

"I will never understand your love of bad horror movies that you admit are bad horror movies," Eva sighed.

The movie had been playing for about forty minutes before Eva glanced over to the two teenagers sitting on the couch. Touta held a huge smile on his face while Kuroumaru seemed to be scrutinizing the film in disgust. Touta laughed as he watched one of the party members get ripped comically limb from limb.

"Ugh, that was not necessary," Kuroumaru said as he turned his face away.

"Of course it wasn't. That's what makes it so awesome," Touta replied back as he slyly stretched his arm around Kuroumaru's shoulder.

"And there he goes. I was wondering when he would start putting the moves on that poor kid," Eva thought. She silently snickered as she observed Kuroumaru tense and nervously began to ring his hands. If it wasn't so dark she knew he had to be as red as a tomato.

"I'm not hurting you, am I?"

"N-no."

"Okay, good," Touta replied as he scooted closer to the timid boy and continued watching the movie happily.

When the few remaining survivors sped away into the sunset with the undead hoard following uselessly behind the credits of the movie began to roll.

"Finally," Eva said as she stretched and stood up. "That's an hour and forty-five minutes I will never see again."

"Well I liked it. What did you think Kuroumaru?"

"Um... well. It was... interesting."

Touta sighed and rolled his eyes at the non-answer. "You want to play a video game?"

"Okay," Kuroumaru said while rubbing his sleepy eyes.

" Touta, think she-"

"I'm not a girl," Kuroumaru corrected quickly.

"Sorry, 'he' has a long trip under him. Show him to his room and let him get some rest."

"Right," Touta said in mild disappointment. "We can play tomorrow. Follow me," Touta said as he grabbed Kuroumaru's bag and walked to the adjoining hallway with Kuroumaru trailing close behind.

"C'mon, I want to show you my room first," Touta said as he grabbed Kuroumaru's hand and pulled him to the room closest to the living room.

Touta pushed open the still broken door to his room and walked in with Kuroumaru who glanced around curiously.

"Sorry it's so messy, I didn't have a lot of time to clean so I didn't get to my room," Touta said as he rushed around and quickly picked up a pile of clothes on the floor and put them into the near empty clothes hamper it was piled next to.

"I like your room," Kuroumaru said. "You have so much fun stuff in here."

Touta chuckled. "Eva says I have too much and that I'm a spoiled brat."

"Wow, you have your own computer?"

"Yeah, some of my favorite games I play are on the PC. I'll show you those tomorrow too."

"Okay," Kuroumaru said with an excited smile. "I like your posters too," he said as he pointed a number of iconic landmarks from around the world that was taped up.

"Thanks, I'm going to visit all those places someday. When I graduate I'll become a world traveler. I want to see everything... Um... You'll go with me, right?"

"Oh? Umm," Kuroumaru stammered.

"Sorry, you don't have to answer that," Touta said in embarrassment. "That's super far away from now. Well, let's see, what else," Touta said as he quickly left his room. "There's... um, there's the bathroom. We're going to have to share that while you're here, but don't forget about the half bathroom in the living room if there's, you know, an emergency."

"Okay..."

"That room over there is Eva's. You can only go in there while she's in there too and you also have to be at the brink of death or something something."

"And this is your room," Touta said as he swung open the hallway door across from his that lead to their houses spare bedroom.

"Wow, this room is so nice," Kuroumaru said as he followed Touta inside. "I can really sleep in here?"

"Um... yeah," Touta answered. Though he considered this room to be very plain and boring looking. All it had was a boring bed, boring dresser, and a boring scenery painting.

Touta chuckled a bit a smiled. "I tried to see if you could sleep in my room like when my friends stay over but Eva very loudly and firmly said 'no'."

"O-oh," Kuroumaru stammered, deeply embarrassed. The thought of sharing a room with Touta put his brain on meltdown. He knew he was blushing again for the hundredth time tonight and was mentally kicking himself for allowing to get so flustered by every comment and action.

"Well, now that Touta has given you the grand tour Kuroumaru I want to lay down a few ground rules for the two of you," Eva said as she entered the bedroom.

"1: Keep it PG. Don't roll your eyes at me Touta.

2: To help keep it PG you are only allowed in each other's rooms during daylight hours and the door is to remain 100% open at all times.100%. If I catch you two behind a closed door or in each other's room at night. Even if you two aren't doing anything. There will be hell to pay. Understand?"

"Yeah yeah."

"Yes ma'am."

"Lastly, Kuroumaru, while you're here please make yourself at home. Feel free to come to me if you need anything. Oh, and don't let Touta talk you into his stupidity."

"Yes ma'am."

"And for the love of god stop calling me ma'am. You make me feel like an old woman. Call me Eva"  
"Yes ma'-" Kuroumaru paused as he was given a stern look. "Eva."

"Thank you, good night Kuroumaru."

"Good night Eva," Kuroumaru said as he watched her head out the door.

"Get out of his room Touta, now. Only warning."

"Good night to you too," Touta said as he stepped outside of the now forbidden threshold.

"Hey," Touta said as he gently pulled at Kuroumaru's arm. "Quick question. I was thinking that between video games we could go to the park tomorrow too."

"The park?"

"Yeah, I want you to meet some of my friends. I've told them enough about you I think it's about time I showed them I wasn't just making you up this entire time!"

Kuroumaru laughed at the stupid joke and Touta smiled at how cute he looked while doing it. He would make stupid jokes everyday all day if they kept making him laugh like that.

"Hey, Kuroumaru?"

"Hmm," Kuroumaru hummed as she looked at him with a smile.

Touta stepped forward and with one hand cupped Kuroumaru's face and with the other on his waist. Kuroumaru closed his eyes as he let Touta kiss him, slowly moving his hands up Touta's shoulder as the seconds ticked by. They parted reluctantly and Touta let out a deep breath and smiled.

"It feels like I've been waiting forever to do that again."

"Oh, ah... I um," Kuroumaru stammered, trying and failing to respond coherently.

Touta laughed quietly and pecked Kuroumaru on the forehead.

"Goodnight, I'll see you tomorrow."

Kuroumaru nodded and closed the bedroom door. Now left alone to himself Kuroumaru began to pace around the room and fan himself dramatically. It just got really hot all of a sudden.

"Stop it, you're acting ridiculous," Kuroumaru chided to himself in a hushed voice. "He's just so cool and handsome. Why is he so cool and handsome? He's so nice to me..."

After calming himself a bit he began to undo the buttons of his white shirt then discarded it to the side. He pressed on his tightly bound chest and then carefully lifted his arm to check his injury. Thankfully he seemed to have done the stitches well enough as it didn't look to be bleeding anymore. He should change the bandages but they should be fine until tomorrow. He turned back to his bag and pulled out a pair of black pajamas that he quickly changed into.

He went over to light switch but hesitated before switching it off. Hesitantly he reached for the door handle and turned the knob until it opened slightly. Kuroumaru closed the door again before opening it a little wider and pocked his head out. Touta had apparently turned out the hallway lights as it was now dark throughout the house. He sighed and closed the door again and flipped off the lights and crawled into bed.

Laying there quietly he stared up at the ceiling and tried to detach his thoughts from the events of the day, at least the first part of it. Thinking about his time with Touta helped but his thoughts always drifted back to reality. He wondered how long he could stay before he had to go back. He's had to have found out by now. He lamented about how angry must be right now. Maybe if he went back right now the punishment wouldn't be... Grabbing the spare pillow he wrapped himself around it and curled into a tight ball. Burying his face into the pillow he eventually was able to cry himself to sleep.

 **Author's end note:** I hope the masturbation scene didn't catch you too much by surprise. I honestly wasn't planning on it and it just kind of happened. I'm not sure if I need to bump up the rating because of it as I tried to not be too graphic but still. Well if someone complains I'll change my rating.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I know I'm seriously deviating from the canon relations (biologically speaking) from the manga, but in this AU with no magic. I had to take some liberties to make things work with the whole immortal thing not in play. Hopefully you lot find it acceptable. Also, I hope it's not too choppy. I actually bit off more than I could chew with this chapter and there are a lot of scene changes and I have yet to learn how to stick to one perspective :( But please still R&R!

UQ SUMMER

By. Amnesty

Touta was, by nature a very optimistic person. Of course he has had his own share of down days like everyone else, but for the most part he always envisioned the best possible outcomes where the skies are always sunny and everyone are the best of friends. He envisioned today being just that as he attempted to pull Kuroumaru into his group of close friends. This morning, when he texted everyone to meet at the park they initially seemed excited to finally meet the Kuroumaru he had been going on about for almost the full month since they've started dating.

So when he and Kuroumaru got to the basketball court in the park he was surprised by his friends' reactions. His friends were quiet and gave Kuroumaru suspicious glances during the initial introductions. The then quickly excused themselves and walked away to hold a private meeting on the other side of the court. Touta and Kuroumaru shared confused glances while Touta's friends conversed adamantly between each other.

"Come one guys. What are you doing?" Touta yelled over.

"One second," Kashu yelled back.

Touta turned to Kuroumaru who was standing beside him, obviously uncomfortable with the cold reception he received. He was already apprehensive about meeting new people and Touta felt guilty for that bad impression that his friends were giving. Definitely not how he expected it to go at all. It didn't help that Kuroumaru was already apprehensive about meeting new people. Though... it was hard to really focus on that when he also couldn't help but admire how cute Kuroumaru looked in more casual clothing.

Before they left this morning he found out that Kuroumaru didn't seem to have brought much clothes with him and what he did have were all way too formal... and all the same exact thing. Nothing suitable for going to the park so he loaned him a faded graphic t-shirt and a pair of denim cargo shorts. They were a little big but not enough to where it was falling off him. Now there was a clear view of Kuroumaru's killer legs. They were well toned but not too muscular. Contrary, they looked like they would be very smooth and very _very_ touchable.

"I'm sorry Touta," Kuroumaru suddenly said as he tightly crossed his arms and looked down.

"Huh? For what," he asked, he would have to focus on checking him out later.

"Your friends don't seem to like me very much. I knew I would mess this up."

"Don't be stupid. You didn't mess anything up. Hang tight, I'm going to go see what those idiots are up to."

Before Kuroumaru could protest Touta jogged over to his friends who were still conversing with each other secretly. Sakka noticed Touta approaching and signaled the others.

"What are you guys doing," Touta sighed. "You're making me look bad in front of Kuroumaru."

"Is this a prank," Shouku asked as he pushed up his glasses. "It's not funny."

"What are you talking about," Touta asked with a sigh.

"How much are you paying her to do this?"

"Do what?"

"We're not stupid Touta. We're not falling for it," Kashu insisted.

"Fall for what," Touta nearly shouted. This was all getting ridiculous.

"That, right there," Kashu clarified as he pointed in Kuroumaru's direction who was shyly standing on the side of the court. "No way _that_ is a boy. He's way too… wow!"

"Seriously? That's why you guys are acting like asses? Because Kuroumaru's hot? I already told you that he was."

"Not just hot," Nikumaru corrected. "Uncomfortably smoking hot."

"Yeah, well he's taken so back off," Touta deadpanned. "And are we going to play or what? Or do you want to just stand around and talk about your confused boners all day?"

This seemed to quickly work on his friends as they begrudgingly nodded and made their way back to where Kuroumaru was waiting. After a quick apology to Kuroumaru for their rudeness the boys separated out into two teams. Touta obviously brought Kuroumaru to his side and was also joined by Sakka. Sakka honestly wasn't much of a sports person but Touta was confident he was good enough to make the difference. He wasn't sure how well Kuroumaru would be but they were just playing for fun anyway so it didn't really matter.

They started up and after playing for a while Touta was thrilled to see how well he and Kuroumaru worked together as a team. Kuroumaru was very athletic, like him, and they were also able to read each other's movements like they had been playing together forever. Sakka mostly stayed to the back as Touta and Kuroumaru passed the ball to and from each other while maneuvering around the other team, scoring points. It didn't take the two long to reach the agreed twenty baskets and win the game. Touta hollered as he celebrated the win and ran to Kuroumaru for a high five.

"Dang it," Kashu yelled in frustration. "I can't believe we lost!"

"Ah, I need some water. I'm dying," Nikumaru groaned as he dragged his way to the sideline.

"Yeah, me too," Touta agreed as everyone went to sit down for a water break.

After going to his bag and rummaging around for a bit he pulled out two water bottles and with a flirtatious wink gave one to Kuroumaru, who accepted it with a blush and a shy smile. Everyone sat down in the grass in an oblong circle while they rested.

"Ugh... It's too hot for basketball," Shouku grumbled. "Bad idea Touta. Why couldn't we have gone to the arcade instead?"

"C'mon, it's not that bad," Touta said with a sympathetic smile.

"I'm good for another game," Kashu exclaimed. "You'll be on my team this time, right Kuroumaru?"

"Me? Oh... I suppose I could..."

"You're really good. Do you play often?"

"Not really... I was just copying Touta mostly."

"A natural," Touta said, patting Kuroumaru's back playfully. "We decimated you and you and you," Touta bragged as he pointed to each of his friends.

"I was on your team," Sakka stated, matter-of-fact, as Touta pointed his gloating finger at him as well.

"Just you wait. With Kuroumaru on my team we're going to grind you to the ground?"

"Um... Kashu? You mean you want me to play against Touta?"

"Precisely! I'll wipe that smug grin off his face."

"I'm sorry, then I humbly decline your request. I can't play against Touta."

"Hah," Touta exclaimed. "Loyalty."

"Come on Kuroumaru. I'm good but I can only carry the team so much."

"What does that mean," Shouku asked in annoyance.

"I'm just saying that you guys aren't where you need to be athletically wise."

"We played just fine," Nikumaru defended.

"Seriously? You can barely keep up, Shouku couldn't shoot a basket if his life depended on it, and Sakka just stood doing nothing to help."

"I wasn't on your team though..."

"If we lost for any reason it's because you don't know how to pass a ball," Shouku shouted.

"Why? So you can miss? You shoot like a girl!"

"Um..." Kuroumaru said in concern as Shouku tackled Kashu and they began to scuffle.

Nikumaru tried to intervene but ended up just getting in the way and getting elbowed in the face and getting wrapped up in the fight as well. Sakka sat and drank his water as he watched the other three roll around on the ground shouting.

"So," Touta began as he slyly put an arm around Kuroumaru's shoulders as his friends fought. "Wanna ditch these idiots?"

"Touta… I thought they were your friends? You shouldn't call them 'idiots'."

"Ah, it's fine. We always talk to each other like that. Now come on," he said as he stood and began to sprint full speed down the path that led around the nearby pond.

"H-hey! Touta," Kuroumaru called as he quickly took off after him.

The two raced down the path around the pond. Eventually darting down a hiking trail that led into the wooded area where the joggers and hikers frequented. The increasingly difficult terrain was nothing for them as they easily jumped over large tree roots, up inclines, and around winding paths. Touta kept the lead before slowing to a stop as he reached a wooden bridge that ran over a small stream. He leaned his head on the railing as he raggedly tried to catch his breath. Soon Kuroumaru caught up with him and was also breathing heavily.

"Wow, you're really fast Touta," Kuroumaru said as he bent over with his hands on his knees, gulping in air.

"Thanks... My heart… is pounding so fast. I think it's about to explode."

Kuroumaru tried to chuckle but found it too difficult at the moment. On shaky legs he moved over to the railing where Touta was and leaned against it. Glancing over Touta saw that Kuroumaru was holding his side and he had a flash of memory of Kuroumaru saying that he was hurt the other night.

"You okay, Kuroumaru," Touta asked as he motioned to the boy's side.

"I'm fine. I just shouldn't have pushed myself so hard. It's just a little sore."

"Here, let me see," Touta said as he pulled at the hem of his t-shirt.

"No you cannot," Kuroumaru shouted as he pushed at Touta's hand that was working its way up.

"C'mon, you're obviously hurt. Just let me see."

"Touta, please stop. I've already taken care of it. It's fine!"

"Fine," Touta said as he dropped his hand. "But you need to speak up if it starts bothering you."

"Okay, I will," Kuroumaru conceded as he turned and looked a number of geese swimming in the stream. Kuroumaru smiled and leaned a bit over the railing. "Look at all the geese. There sure is a lot of them."

"There'll be even more in a couple of months. Pretty soon you won't be able to move without stepping in bird crap."

Kuroumaru rolled his eyes and gave a quick laugh.

"Look," Touta said was he pointed off into the stream. "Baby turtle."

"Where," Kuroumaru asked, perking up.

"Over there, on the log."

"...I don't see it."

"There. Where I'm pointing. Tiny dot with the head. On the log."

"Oh! I see it now. Aw, look at it. It's so cute."

Touta smiled as he watched Kuroumaru admire the scenery. It was almost childlike in the way his focus went from the geese, to the turtle, to the fish, and back to the turtle. He really was beautiful to look at but it wasn't just that that drew him to him. He believed fate had brought them together. Just thinking about him made him so happy and being with him felt almost unreal, especially when they were alone like this.

Touta watched as Kuroumaru glanced at him and work his way through fifty shades of red.

"I-is something wrong Touta?"

Touta shook his head and assured everything was fine before pushing away from the railing.

"We better get going. We'll walk from here on out. I don't want your side to hurt you," Touta said.

Kuroumaru nodded as he followed Touta further down the path. After a small way there was a decent spot under a large tree that provided good shade. Touta wasn't tired but he always liked stopping here for a bit and take everything it. He sat down and Kuroumaru followed suite and sat down beside him.

"It really is peaceful here. It's very... calming," Kuroumaru commented.

"Are there any parks like this in the city?"

"Of course. I haven't been to any since I was little, but I live only a few blocks away from the Yoyogi park which is popular... Though my family's estate has a nice garden that I enjoy very much. Some nights when I can't sleep I sneak outside and just sit for hours and hours."

"Man, a family estate with a garden? Your family must be loaded."

"Yes, I suppose we are. It's not like I have any access to any of it though."

"So what exactly is your family's business again? You always dodged the question when I asked on the phone."

Kuroumaru sighed and brought his knees to his chest. "I guess you could say we are contractual businessmen. My brother makes contracts with buyers and then the rest of us complete whatever tasks we are given."

"That's awfully vague. What kind of jobs?"

"It… varies. We all are trained in different specialties so we can take on a multitude of different contracts."

"What's your 'specialty' then."

Kuroumaru frowned and turned forward. "Mostly I deal with clients that try and back out of an arrangement. I'm either sending a message in an attempt to retain a deal or go to them directly to... sever ties."

"I see… Are you any good at it?"

Kuroumaru shrugged.

"I take it you don't like your job."

"No, I hate it. But I have no choice."

"Have you told your brother? Maybe he just doesn't realize and can have you do something else."

"It doesn't work that way. Besides even if it did my brother would never allow it. He's very particular."

"Do you and your brother not get along or something?"

Kuroumaru shrugged again. "He takes care of me. Honestly it's my own fault. I'm not a very good little brother. I try hard to do as he tells me but I'm always messing something up."

"Sorry to tell you but your brother doesn't sound like that great of a guy. I think the problems with him, not with you."

"T-that's not true. He works hard to take care of my family. I'm in the wrong for disrespecting him like this. He's done so much for me and I should be more grateful... When I go home I... I-I," Kuroumaru stammered as he began to tug at his hair, looking shaken.

"Don't go home," Touta interjected. "Just stay with us."

Kuroumaru looked at him in surprise and blushed before looking down sadly.

"It's not that simple. You can't just leave my family. They would never allow it…."

"Well, isn't that why you ran away though?"

Kuroumaru turned to Touta in surprise.

"You… you know?"

"Of course I know. I'm not stupid Kuroumaru."

Kuroumaru took a nervous breath and lowered his gaze. "Does Eva know?"

"Probably."

Kuroumaru groaned and buried his face in his hands.

"I'm so stupid... W-what's going to happen now?"

"Well, personally I'm going to enjoy every moment with you and focus on things that make you smile. I love your smile. And probably flirt with you until you go mad... Steal kisses when no ones looking," Touta trailed as he turned and looked off into the woods ahead. "And don't worry about Eva. She's seems pretty rough but... No, she's pretty rough but she'll take care of you so don't worry about her."

Nervousness budded in Kuroumaru's stomach as he watched Touta. His stomachs always did flips when they were together and being alone with him like this made him feel… weird. It was frightening how safe he felt with Touta. 'Safe' wasn't something he was used to feeling. Everything he said sounded so wonderful, but he didn't know the whole story. He didn't know the truth of anything. If he did he just knew Touta would reject him. He knew there was no way for this to last forever but he could just pretend a little bit longer, couldn't he?

Kuroumaru took a steadying breath and after closing his eyes leaned slightly closer towards Touta. He felt instant regret over the stupidity of his action. How was Touta supposed to know what he was doing? He wasn't even sure what he was doing! He hadn't said anything and Touta wasn't even looking in his direction. Maybe if he pulled away quietly Touta wouldn't notice how stupid he was being-

His eyes popped opened as he suddenly felt Touta's warm lips press gently against his. After the shock passed he slowly lowered his eyes as he allowed himself to enjoy the kiss. He knew it was disgusting and unnatural but he couldn't help but love kissing him. His heart was beating so fast it felt like it was about to leap out of his chest. After a few seconds of innocent kissing Kuroumaru was caught off guard as he felt Touta's tongue press into his mouth. He pushed away and covered his mouth in shock.

"Sorry! I'm sorry. Too much?"

"No! It's okay. I just wasn't expecting… that."

"I can stop if you want."

"I-it's fine. You don't have to stop," Kuroumaru continued, beginning to mumble.

Touta smiled, finding Kuroumaru's shyness cute. He slowly raised his hand to Kuroumaru's face and brushed away the long bangs that covered his left eye and tucked it behind his ear.

"You have the most amazing eyes," Touta commented as he cupped Kuroumaru's red cheeks.

"You have amazing eyes too. Amazing... everything. You're really really amazing," Kuroumaru said before wincing. "I'm so bad at this!"

"You're fine," Touta said while leaning forward and kissing Kuroumaru again.

Touta wrapped his arms around Kuroumaru's waist and urged him slightly closer. Kuroumaru, not knowing what to do with his hands bunched Touta's shirt at his shoulders. Soon Touta tried to deepen again and this time Kuroumaru didn't pull away. Their pulses began to spiral out of control as the clung tightly together. Kuroumaru's stomach tightened and breathing became more difficult. Touta moved one hand to Kuroumaru's outer thigh and slowly creeped his hand further and further up.

"I-I lied," Kuroumaru yelled and shoved Touta so hard it sent him flying. Followed by him covering his face in embarrassment. "I can't do this!"

Touta held up a thumbs up from his prone position. "Yeah... okay."

* * *

As the door opened Eva glanced up from her seat on the couch to see Touta and Kuroumaru enter.

"It's about time you kids got back," Eva said as she put down her whiskey. "Have fun?"

"We had a great time. We killed at basketball. Kuroumaru's super good. Then we took walk a walk around the pond and- "

"That's very nice Touta. Now go take the trash to the curb for me."

"What? Right now?"

"Yes, right now. And check the mail while you're out too."

"Fine," Touta said with a roll of his eyes as started heading toward the garage.

Kuroumaru didn't miss a beat and was right on Touta's heels to go with him.

"You can stay Kuroumaru. We haven't really had a chance to chat yet. Just you and me."

"Oh… yes, of course," Kuroumaru quietly said as he obediently walked over and sat at the far end of the couch, away from Eva.

"Did you have a smooth trip here? It's quite a drive from Tokyo."

"It was fine."

"And do you like your room?"

"It's lovely. Thank you for the accommodations."

"You know; I'm surprised your elder brother is fine with you staying so far away with a family he's never met."

Kuroumaru looked down guiltily.

"Touta tells me your family is highly traditional. Is this true?"

Kuroumaru nodded.

"So, is he aware of the type of relationship you and Touta have."

"No… he isn't."

"Well that's troublesome, isn't it? And how long will you be staying with us?"

"Oh… Um… A week or so," Kuroumaru answered as he began to fidget with his hands.

"A week or so? Well maybe I should have a talk with your brother. It's important that we are on the same page. What's your home number?"

"I-it won't be easy," Kuroumaru said quickly. "My brother is a very busy man, you see, and it will be difficult to reach him."

"Kuroumaru," Eva said sternly.

"Y-yes?"

"Don't insult me."

"I- I wasn't trying to- "

"I know you've been twisting the truth ever since you got here. You're a horrible liar." Eva sighed and took a drink. "You're still a minor. If someone finds out I'm abiding a runaway I could face legal problems."

"I-I'm sorry. I'm not trying to get you in trouble. I promise I won't stay for long. I just... I needed a break. I promise I won't stay long."

"The only reason I've let you stay this long is because how much Touta cares for you." Eva sighed and rubbed at her temples.

"I'm sorry. I'll go pack my things now," Kuroumaru said as he stood up.

"And if you did leave where would you go?"

Kuroumaru looked down and crossed his arms tightly. "I'll go home. I have nowhere else."

"... Does your brother or anyone else hurt you? You can tell me."

Kuroumaru silently looked away.

"Kuroumaru?"

"No," Kuroumaru said firmly.

Eva deeply sighed as she leaned back on the couch. "You can stay here."

"R-really?"

"At least for now, I can't promise for how long."

"Yes, I understand. Thank you. Thank you so much."

"Finished," Touta chimed as he walked through the front door. He looked between Eva and Kuroumaru and sensed the tension. "Did I miss something?"

"No, we're finished here," Eva said as she stood from her seat. "I'm going to go work in my office for a while. Don't disturb me," she said as she stood and walked away towards her room.

"Hey," Touta said as he placed a hand on Kuroumaru's shoulder. "You okay?"

Kuroumaru moaned as he laid his head on Touta's shoulder.

"Yeah, she can have that effect," Touta said as he wrapped an arm around Kuroumaru's waist.

 **A Few Days Later**

Eva loaded the last dish to the dishwasher and after adding the detergent closed the door and started the machine. She quickly washed her hands and began to pat them on her legs to dry as she walked out of the kitchen into the front room. Walking in she saw Kuroumaru peeking out the window's curtains nervously.

He had been a bit on the edgy side today, even more so than normal. It was hard not to notice how Kuroumaru always seemed to be walking around on eggshells, especially when she was around. Now she had to admit she liked being feared. She liked it lot actually. But she didn't want Kuroumaru to fear her in that way she recognized all too well.

Apparently Kuroumaru had heard her as he quickly dropped the curtain and went back to the chore she had given him earlier of dusting. Eva rolled her eyes and continued her way to the laundry room that was blaring music so loud it began to hurt her ears as she got closer. She walked through the open door and saw Touta working on folding a mountain of clothes. Reaching over she turned off the wireless speakers.

"Hey," Touta complained as he placed a folded shirt in his basket.

"You're going to ruin your ears," Eva chided.

"You worry too much. It was fine."

Eva looked in her basket and frowned before pulling out a number of frilly multi colored items.

"What is this?"

Touta glanced up and frowned.

"What?"

"These are expensive silks. You can't just crumple them up. Fold them properly."

"I'm not folding your underwear!"

"Don't be such a child. They're just panties," Eva said as she began to fold the delicate items.

Touta blushed and folded a pair of his jeans.

"School starts next month. I haven't seen you do your workbook lately."

"I've done a bit. I've just been busy lately."

"Playing video games all day with Kuroumaru isn't busy. As your teacher it would be an embarrassment to my skills if you came back to the school year with a mushy brain. I don't want to have to police you but I will if I have to."

"Fine, I'll do more of that stupid book."

"Thank you," Eva said as she grabbed a shirt and began folding.

"Hey Eva?"

"Hm?"

"Could I borrow the car tonight?"

Eva paused momentarily before continuing.

"Why?"

"Well... Kuroumaru's been kind of down today and I was hoping a date might cheer him up."

"If you two want to go out I can take you."

"No, you'd just ruin it. _I_ want to take him out. C'mon, what's the point of having a driver's license if I don't get to go anywhere."

"I don't know... Everything's in walking distance for the most park so you don't really have a lot of experience. Where are you wanting to go that you need the car?"

"I want to go to that sea food place in the town over. I'll be fine. I'll stay under the speed limit, check all my mirrors regularly and whatnot."

"Fine fine, but you better be back by nine."

Touta smiled triumphantly. "Done."

"And make sure your phone is charged. I'm sick of paying all this money every month for you to carry around a dead phone."

"I can do that. Thanks Eva. I'm going to tell Kuroumaru," Touta said before giving Eva a quick passing peck on the cheek.

Touta spotted Kuroumaru standing next to a shelf that held all the photos they had displayed. He was examining a photo with him and his parents that was taken about a year before the accident that took their lives. Touta walked up and Kuroumaru quickly cast a glance at Touta before looking back to the picture.

"They're very pretty." Kuroumaru noted.

"They were, weren't they," Touta agreed as he looked at the two smiling women with a happy boy who shared his face. "I wish I could remember them…"

"You look happy."

"I was happy. Eva said I was one of the happiest kids she'd ever met. One of the most annoying too."

"It's strange though... I can't help but feel I've seen them somewhere before."

"Really?"

Kuroumaru nodded. "I can't place it. Maybe I'm just imagining things."

"Oh! You know I've heard stories of people meeting in their childhood before coming together later on in life. We lived in Tokyo. Maybe we rode the same train when we were kids or something."

Kuroumaru looked at him and smiled sweetly. "Maybe."

"Or maybe you saw them on TV or something. Konoka was a popular Minister of State in her time."

"That makes more sense. So… And I hope this isn't too personal, but who's your father?"

"It's fine, I understand why you'd be curious. Truthfully, I actually never had one. I'm a test tube baby. My parent's friend, a man named Negi Springfield, helped them in making me. That's him there," Touta said as he pointed to a photo with a young man surrounded with a large group of beautiful woman. Touta's moms were standing next to him, along with Eva.

"Ooo he's very handsome. I see the resemblance."

"I've met him a few times. He keeps pretty busy with his work. We might be blood related but I never saw him as one of my parents or anything."

"I see," Kuroumaru said as he looked back to the family portrait with Touta and his moms before furrowing his brows.

"What was that look for," Touta asked with a chuckle.

"Oh! Sorry, it's just that… Well, in my family homosexuality is considered unnatural and shameful. Two woman getting married is just... not acceptable."

Touta cocked an eyebrow. "Seriously? What's wrong with two people loving each other?"

"I don't know... It's just what I've been told."

"So what do you think about us then?"

"Well... um," Kuroumaru mumbled as he looked away in shame.

"Ouch, no chill from Kuroumaru."

"I'm sorry! I-I shouldn't have said anything," Kuroumaru moaned loudly as he began to flail about in a comedic panic.

"Geez Kuroumaru, calm down," Touta laughed as he reached and arm around his shoulder to get him to stop. "I get it. I don't agree but I'll just have to work on changing your perspective and I have the perfect idea to do just that."

"Oh," Kuroumaru said as he tried to calm his nerves from just making a fool of himself.

"Yeah, let's go out tonight. Just you and me."

"Go... out? Like a. Um... Like a-"

"Date? Yeah, there's a restaurant that has awesome seafood. Eva's letting me have the car so we can go."

Kuroumaru couldn't seem to get a response out as his mouth opened and shut uselessly. Eventually he gave a hard nod to show his desire to go on the proposed date.

"Great! I'm going to go change. You already look perfect. Just give me a few minutes to grab a shirt that doesn't have holes in it," Touta said as he took off for his bedroom.

Kuroumaru was left standing in the living room trying to regain his composure. He brought his hands to his red cheeks and shook his head feverishly. There was something about Touta that just made his circuits misfire, leaving him feeling dazed.

A date? He wanted to go on a date. He'd never been on a date before and panic was setting in. It was honestly an accomplishment to even be able to go as far as he's had with Touta. He silently prayed that he wouldn't find some way to ruin it.

Deciding that he needed to freshen up as well Kuroumaru rushed to the bathroom and grabbed his hair brush from the counter. Undoing the hair tie his long raven hair cascaded down his back. He quickly began to run the brush through the strands in attempt to make it look silkier. While brushing he examined his face, wishing he was prettier. He was too pale, too small looking, just all around not attractive. Why Touta liked him he had no idea. He didn't even have a good personality to make the gap. But Touta still wanted to go out on a date with him so he had to try and do his best with what he had.

Grabbing his hair tie he pulled his long hair into his signature side ponytail and began to secure it in place. In his rush he must have been pulling too tight and soon the tie burst and his hair fell around his shoulder and back.

"Oh no," Kuroumaru exclaimed in anguish. "This is the only one I have! What do I do now? I can't go out like this. This is already a disaster!"

"Is everything alright?"

Kuroumaru looked to the door and saw Eva standing with a white bucket in her arms. He helplessly held up his hair tie towards her with a defeated expression.

"Really, is that what all the fuss is about? Follow me," Eva said as she continued back down the hallway.

Kuroumaru hesitated before following after her down the hall. Soon he found himself standing awkwardly in Eva's bedroom. He wasn't sure what he expected the aloof and confident Eva's room to look like but this… was not it. The furniture looked to be from the Victorian era. The most modern thing was her work desk that was situated in a large alcove. Her bed was a pale pink with white frills and he couldn't begin to guess how many stuffed animals where crammed on the bed and hid along her bookshelf.

Eva put her folded clothes at the foot of her bed and walked to her vanity table. Opening a drawer she pulled out a hair tie and held it up for Kuroumaru.

"Here you go; you can keep it. I have a million."

"Thank you," Kuroumaru said as he took the hair tie.

"Though you should leave it down. It looks nice like that."

"You… think?"

"It's unusual for boys to have such long hair nowadays."

"It's- "

"Traditional, I know."

"Well… I have let it get a bit longer than it's supposed to be. I should cut it soon. It just grows so fast," Kuroumaru said as he fidgeted with the hair tie.

"Nervous," Eva asked with a side smirk.

Kuroumaru blushed and nodded silently.

"Just relax. Touta will make sure you have a good time."

Kuroumaru silently began to pull his hair up.

"Why not try something different?"

"What do you mean," Kuroumaru asked, pausing.

"This is a special night for the two of you. Why don't you try something new with your hair?"

Kuroumaru looked down at his hair tie as he pondered the options. He moved his hair to the other side of his shoulder and began to tie it up in the same style side ponytail, only on the opposite side.

"That's not what I meant," Eva snapped in annoyance. "Sit down Kuroumaru," she ordered and pointed to the seat in front of her vanity mirror. Kuroumaru shuffled over and sat as he was told.

Eva grabbed her vintage comb and began comb through his hair. Kuroumaru couldn't remember the last time anyone had combed through his hair. It felt… nice.

"What about this," Eva asked with a mischievous smile as she pulled Kuroumaru's hair into high pigtails. Kuroumaru gasped and frowned in horror.

"No, that's a girl's hairstyle!"

"It's almost the exact same as what you wear every day though," Eva defended with a laugh before letting his hair fall back down. He began running her fingers through it as she thought of what to do.

"It's not the same. Please don't make me look like a girl."

"I'll try," Eva said as she continued to work at his hair for a few minutes. "Is this better?"

Kuroumaru turned his head as he examined his new hairstyle for the night. She had looped the hair that he typically kept down with the ends joining together with the bun on the back of his head. Keeping the ponytail theme, he had access hair poking out of the middle that still managed to fall between his shoulder blades.

"Well… I do like it."

"Perfect, I'm glad."

"Thank you so much," Kuroumaru said as he stood from the chair and headed towards the door. "This was… nice."

As soon as he stepped back into the hallways Touta rounded the corner. He looked shocked and confused to see him leaving Eva's room but quickly turned it into a smile.

"There you are. I've been looking all over for you. Are you ready?"

"I-I am," Kuroumaru answered as he closed the gap between them.

"Great, I love your hair by the way. It looks super cute."

"Cute!?"

"Definitely, now come on."

"Not one scratch Touta Konoe. I mean it," Eva called after them as they quickly walked away.

 **At the restaurant**

Touta watched as Kuroumaru stirred his water with his straw while watching him from across the table. He didn't know why it got so quiet all of a sudden. They had a good time on the drive here. Even after almost killing them when he accidentally treated a stop light as a stop sign. An instance he stressed stayed between them. No need telling Eva when nothing came of it. Touta smiled at Kuroumaru who returned a sweet smile of his own.

"How do you like the food?"

"It's nice. I like seafood."

"Me too. Nikumaru's uncle owns this chain. We came here for his birthday and I've been wanting to come back."

"Though it's a little too big. The table I mean," Kuroumaru commented, noting the tall table that came up to his chest. "It makes me feel like I'm a child."

"Hey, you're right. They need to get some taller booths or something. It's kind of ridiculous."

"You feel... kind of far away."

Touta cocked his head as he thought for a second as an idea came to him. He smirked as he stood up and went over to Kuroumaru's side. Kuroumaru smiled as he slid farther in and allowed Touta to sit next to him.

"Better?"

"Yes, much."

"Besides, it's easier to do this now," Touta commented as he slid his hand into Kuroumaru's under the table.

Kuroumaru smiled as their fingers laced together. This was apparently all they needed as the dialogue wall crumbled and the fell into casual and light conversation. After they were done eating the waiter came and placed the check on the table. Touta pulled out his wallet to get his debit card while Kuroumaru started pulling cash out from his.

"What are you doing," Touta asked.

"I'm getting my money out," Kuroumaru stated obviously.

"Don't worry about it. This is my treat."

"You just can't pay for everything. This place is kind of expensive. Plus, you paid for everything at the festival. I owe you anyways."

"I'm not keeping a tab. And I asked you out so It's my duty to pay for the date."

"Stop it Touta. I know what you're doing. You're treating me like a girl again," Kuroumaru huffed as he crossed his arms in annoyance.

"What? No I'm not."

"Yes you are. I hate it."

"Look, if it upsets you this much how about this. I pay for your dinner," Touta held up a hand to keep Kuroumaru from interrupting with his protests. "And you can pay for mine. Sound fair?"

Kuroumaru mulled it over in his head before nodding in agreement.

"That sounds fair."

"Great. It can even be our little thing or something."

"I'd… I'd like that," Kuroumaru said as he tried to hold back a blush.

"Hey, before we head home can we go somewhere?"

"Where?"

"There a small flower field just around the block of this place. We could go and sit for a while before it gets dark."

"Okay, it sounds like fun."

"Great, c'mon," he said as he helped pull Kuroumaru out from the far side of the booth.

It was a short walk to where Touta was talking about. It looked like it used to be a building lot as it was tightly nestled between two buildings. It was like a simple garden with only a few trees and bushes but the ground was covered with small wildflowers that covered the ground like a blanket.

"It's beautiful Touta," Kuroumaru said with a smile.

"So you like it then?"

"I love it."

They both headed toward a patch that was fairly clear of other people and sat down, trying to avoid sitting on the bright flowers, though it was difficult to do so. After a few minutes of silently enjoying the scenery Touta took the opportunity and made himself comfortable by lying back and plopping his head on Kuroumaru's lap.

"What are you doing," Kuroumaru yelled under his breath, casting panic glances at the people around them. "Get off."

"Your lap is so soft though. Super comfy."

"Well... Maybe just for a little bit," Kuroumaru conceded with a deep blush.

Touta smiled and closed his eyes as he began to sink into relaxation. He wasn't lying about how comfortable this was and realized how easily it could be to fall asleep right where he was. Serene thoughts were jarred as he felt delicate fingers graze across the side of his face. He opened his eyes and saw an embarrassed Kuroumaru looking down at him.

"S-sorry," he said as he quickly retracted his hand. "I don't know why I did that."

"It's okay. I liked it actually. You don't have to stop."

Kuroumaru slowly brought his hand back to Touta's face and cupped his cheek, running his thumb across his skin. Touta closed his eyes and went back to relaxing, though it was now a bit more difficult now that his stomach was fluttering and his chest tightening the way it was. He felt as Kuroumaru began to run his hand slowly though his hair. Eventually he made it back to the gentle stroking of his face. No longer able to contain himself Touta reached up and grasped Kuroumaru's hand and placed a soft kiss on his palm. Above him he heard a reactionary gasp from Kuroumaru. Not wanting to stop there he continued to trail of slow and gentle kisses up Kuroumaru's wrist. He listened as Kuroumaru's breath became slightly more ragged. Before Touta had a chance to go too far up Kuroumaru yanked his hand back to cover his beat red face.

"I can't..."

Looking around to try and find something to distract himself with Kuroumaru decidedly began picking a few flowers and began twisting the vines together frantically. Soon a line of full flowers began to form as Kuroumaru steadily added to it.

"What are you making?"

"I'm making a flower crown," Kuroumaru said as he placed a few flowers on Touta's chest as a makeshift table. "My mom taught me how to make these when I was little. I haven't made one in years but I always found it therapeutic."

"Oh really? That's sweet."

"Mmhm…. She probably regretted teaching me though because the moment she went inside I think I plucked every flower in her garden to make more. I wanted one for everyone in the house and by the end of the day all these serious looking guys were walking around with big flower crowns on their heads. I didn't know how much work my mom put into her flowers until after. She was so mad."

"That's such a cute story. It makes me think that's it one of those stories parents have where they were angry in the moment but later on they look back to it being one for their fondest memories."

"… I hope so."

"This kind of reminds me of a field we have nearby my school. A couple of years back I would pick flowers for Eva almost every day."

Kuroumaru furrowed his eyebrows and slowed his work. "What?"

"Oh," Touta said with a blush. "It's a bit embarrassing to admit but when I a couple of years ago I had the biggest crush on her. I wasn't shy about it either."

"You had a crush on Eva," Kuroumaru repeated with concern.

"Yeah… It really was pathetic. I'd try everything to get her to like me back but it was all useless. She had to sit me down and explain that nothing was ever EVER going to happen and to move on."

"Do feelings like that just go away though? I mean… do you still like her?"

"Well… I still think she's attractive but that's just not how our relationship is."

Kuroumaru hands shook as he fumbled with the stems of the flowers he was twisting. His mind started racing with worrisome doubts.

" _He loves Eva? Romantically? Of course he would, who wouldn't fall in love with her? She may not share those feelings now but what if things changed when Touta got older? Surely he would only become more handsome with age. What if she starting reciprocating his feelings? There's no way I would stand a chance if that happened."_

"Hey," Touta said as he grasped Kuroumaru's had and gave a slight squeeze. Kuroumaru released the breath he was holding in surprise and looked at Touta. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Kuroumaru responded a bit too quickly.

"Oh really," Touta responded with a smug smirk. "Cuz you just seem just a tad bit jealous."

"I'm not jealous," Kuroumaru snapped back.

"Are too! You should see yourself. You're fuming, it's actually adorable."

"Shut up Touta. You are infuriating sometimes; you know that?"

"Well, I just want you to know you have nothing to be worried about. Ever. You have my word. I'm with you to the end."

Kuroumaru blushed at his words while connecting the ends of the crown. After securing it he plopped it on Touta's head. He smiled in appreciation and adjusted it so that it would fit better.

"You look ridiculous," Kuroumaru dead panned.

"Really? I like it though. Thank you."

Touta stood up and patted his shorts to get the grass off.

"It's about time we start heading back," he said as he held out a hand to help Kuroumaru to his feet.

"Okay," Kuroumaru said as he stood with the offered hand.

The two fell into step as the headed back towards where Touta parked the car. The sun was starting to set so a lot of the crowd had already fanned out. Soon it was just the two of them and a small group of suspicious looking men. Touta tried to give them a wide girth but they purposefully made themselves unavoidable.

"Wallet, both of you," the lead demanded. He pulled out a gun and pointed it directly at Touta.

"Yeah, okay. No problem," Touta shakily assured as he and Kuroumaru reached in their pockets for their wallets.

He couldn't believe this was happening. Touta thought as he pulled out his wallet. Everything was going so well and they were almost home. Why were they getting robbed? If this was the city he wouldn't have been so surprised but this was supposed to be a peaceful town. Where'd he even get a gun? Aren't the supposed to be banned in Japan? He passed over his wallet along with Kuroumaru. One of the other men took it and quickly pocketed it.

"Phones too," the gun wielding man said.

Touta reached back into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone. Irrationally a quick thought of Eva getting mad at him for losing it passed through his head. It was quickly snatched from his hand. The gun was then pointed over to Kuroumaru who was looking ridiculously calm considering the situation. The panging fear in his stomach intensified.

"Don't point your gun at Kuroumaru. Just keep it on me," Touta pleaded.

"Phone," he said, ignoring Touta's protest.

"I don't have one," Kuroumaru answered coolly.

The man silently studied Kuroumaru momentarily.

"You're awfully pretty. How 'bout you come with us and I show you how to have a real good time."

"Leave him alone. You have your wallets so just leave."

"Him? No way, I'm going to have to see some proof of that."

"Let's go man, we're going to get caught," one of his accomplices said.

"In a minute," he bit back.

He stepped closer to Kuroumaru while lowering his gun hand. With his free hand he reached for the top of Kuroumaru's shirt, loosening his tie and perversely running his hand to pop off his top button. Touta hated the way he was looking at Kuroumaru. It was making him sick and soon his instincts just took over.

"I said leave him alone," Touta shouted as he stepped forward and slammed his fist across the larger man's face.

The thug growled as he was forced back and grabbed his cheek.

"You've just made the worst mistake of your life," he said as he stepped threating towards Touta.

In that split second Kuroumaru was on him and with a quick punch to the side he was sent sliding against the pavement. With a curse another assailant lunged at Kuroumaru. Kuroumaru easily evaded him and pivoted around him while quickly pulling his tie off from around his neck. In quick succession he forced the tie around the man's head and pushed his leg against his back, tightening and making it into a noose. The man grasped at his neck in a panic as he fell his knees, pathetically trying to free himself as he tried to gasp for breath.

The third and fourth man tried rushing them together. Using his smaller frame Kuroumaru rushed towards them as well before sliding between the legs of the closest one, taking him down by hitting his leg. Quickly regaining himself Kuroumaru bolted over the fallen man, flipping once in the air before wrapping his legs around the other man and using the momentum to take him down and slamming his face into the pavement.

"Oh shit," both Touta and the gun wielding thief shouted in unison as the stood off to the side.

Being the only one left the man lifted his gun towards Kuroumaru but with seemingly little effort Kuroumaru grabbed his wrist and twisted it behind him, making him fall to the ground. Kuroumaru took the gun and pointed it towards the back of the scared man's head.

"No, Kuroumaru don't!"

Kuroumaru quickly fired the weapon three times. The sound of empty clicks was barely audible of the sound of the man's panicked screams. Kuroumaru's eyes widened as realization fell over him. He loosened his grip on the man's arm which he pulled away before crawling then scrambling to his feet. The man took this opportunity to run away as fast as he can in the direction he saw his cohorts already taken.

Kuroumaru slowly fell to his knees. Arms going limp beside him and gun falling to the side. Touta quickly made his way over and fell to his boyfriend's side.

"Oh my god. Are you okay? Please tell me you're okay," he pleaded as he looked him over.

Kuroumaru didn't reply as he stared into the pavement with a blank expression.

"Come one, please say something. Shit, you're bleeding," Touta noted as he saw the red spreading across Kuroumaru's side. He quickly pulled at the bottom of Kuroumaru's shirt and began to pull it up so he could take a closer look.

"No," Kuroumaru shouted and defensively wrapped his arms around his chest.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you. I just need to check your wound. You're bleeding," Touta said as gently as he could as he once again tried lifting the shirt.

This time Touta was allowed access and was able to pull up Kuroumaru's shirt enough to find the blood soaked bandages. Touta couldn't help but take a quick glance around to Kuroumaru's front and saw that along with his injury they also served to tightly press down his breasts. Heat rose to Touta's face but quickly decided that it wasn't important at the moment and went back to inspecting Kuroumaru's side. He pulled at the bandages and saw a gash that ran along his side. A part of it was scabbed and he could make out where it pulled away from the poorly done stitches.

"Okay, looks like your cut reopened. And… And I have no clue what I'm doing so I'm just going to lower these bandages."

Touta pulled off his shirt and folded it before placing it over the wound.

"Keep your hand here for me," Touta said as he pulled Kuroumaru's hand and had him press down.

When Touta released the other boy's hand Kuroumaru slowly let it drift down with the shirt in hand.

"Just press right here," Touta repeated as he repositioned Kuroumaru's hand. This time Kuroumaru's hand stayed in place. "There we go,"

Touta reached for his phone and cursed as he remembered that he gave it over during the mugging.

"Okay, we need to get back to the car. Can you stand," he asked as he gently tried to help Kuroumaru to his feet. Kuroumaru didn't budge and continued to stare quietly down. "That's okay… I'll just carry you."

He wrapped his arms around Kuroumaru and tried to pull him up but it was proving to be harder than he though.

"Can you help me out just a little bit?... No? That's okay, I got this."

It took him a couple of tries but he was finally able to work Kuroumaru into a bridal carry. He didn't realize how hard it was to pick up a person who wasn't cooperating with you. But they were moving now and that was what mattered. He quickly carried him off and away from the scene of the attack.

* * *

"Eva," Touta shouted as he carried Kuroumaru into the house. "I need your help, Kuroumaru's hurt!"

Touta rushed over to the couch and gently

"Eva!"

"What is it? What the hell happened," Eva asked as she rushed out of the hallway into the living room.

"We were mugged," Touta quickly said as he moved so Eva could examine Kuroumaru.

"Was he stabbed? Why didn't you call me? Why didn't you take him to a hospital?"

"He wasn't stabbed. It's his wound from earlier this week. They stole my phone. And I tried taking him to the hospital but he grabbed the steering wheel and almost killed us when I brought it up."

Eva pulled open Kuroumaru's shirt. She didn't even blink an eyelash at Kuroumaru's bound chest. Touta though went immediately beat red and turned away.

"Stop standing around Touta. Get me my phone. It's on the counter in the kitchen."

"Right," Touta said as he rushed off to the kitchen.

Eva grabbed a pair of scissors that were conveniently left on the coffee table and swiftly cut the bandages loose. She inspected it quickly and looked up and Kuroumaru who hadn't uttered a word since arriving.

"It's not as bad as it looks. You're going to be fine… Kuroumaru?"

Eva glanced up at Kuroumaru's unresponsive face momentarily before letting out a sigh. Touta ran back into the front room with Eva's cell phone in hand. She quickly took the phone, unlocked it, and called a number in her contact list. While listening to the phone ring she glanced up at Touta who was looking at Kuroumaru with concern and guilt. She couldn't help with that right now but she could at least try and give him a job to keep him busy.

"Touta, I need a bowl of cool, not cold, water. Get the medicine kit while you're at it."

Touta nodded and quickly went to do as he was told. About that time a chipper voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Hey… Yes yes, it's been too long. I need you to get to my house as quick as you can. It's an emergency."

* * *

"How is she," Eva whispered as she entered Kuroumaru's bedroom before closing the door behind her.

Inside her school friend, Ako Izumi, was pulling blankets over an unconscious Kuroumaru. Ako looked up at Eva and sighed.

"I gave her something to sleep. She should be out for the night and most of tomorrow. I'm also going to get you some antibiotics that I want her to take. Honestly, I'm surprised that it wasn't already infected. And no more binding. She's compressing the blood vessels and slowing the healing process."

Ako began to clear up her medical equipment and gave out a troubled sigh.

"… You know, I'm not certain what I find more disturbing. A fifteen-year-old girl with a badly self-done stitching job for a gunshot wound. Thank god it was just a graze… Or am I more disturbed that this isn't the first time she's been shot. And that's not all! She's _literally_ been stabbed in the back. Seven times."

"I saw that."

"Where on earth did you find this girl?"

"Touta found her. I swear that kid attracts trouble like a moth to a flame. He's just like his parents. _All_ of them, but he cares about her so I'll make sure she's taken care of."

"My my Eva. I can't believe parenthood has turned you into such a softie," Ako teased as she closed her medical bag and headed for the door.

"Do you want to leave this house in one piece," Eva said with a frown as she flicked of the light.

Ako giggled quietly as she reached Eva. "Call me if something happens but medically she's good to go. I'll see myself out. Good night."

"Good night," Eva said she opened the door and followed Ako out.

Touta was waiting just outside, fiddling the flower crown Kuroumaru had given him earlier. He politely wished Ako goodnight as she passed and looked at Eva.

"How is he? Can I see him now?"

"She's sleeping," Eva said firmly. "And she's sedated so she'll be out for a while."

"I'll be quiet. I just want to see him."

"It's late Touta. You can see her tomorrow. Just go to bed for now."

"But,"

"Honestly, don't fight me on this. Go to bed. You've had a rough night yourself."

Touta let out an exasperated breath but could tell it wasn't going anywhere. He conceded at turned to his bedroom and went inside. Once Touta was gone Eva let out her millionth sigh and went to her bedroom. She went to her work desk and sat down tiredly. Mentally she decided she was getting too old for this. Unlocking her desk, she opened the drawer and pulled out and a couple of ever growing files. She snapped her fingers and got to work.

* * *

Touta couldn't sleep. He was exhausted but every time he closed his eyes the night just played over and over in his head. He didn't think the fear he felt when he saw that guy point that gun at Kuroumaru would ever go away. Even knowing now that it was empty the whole time didn't do anything from making him feel less sick to the stomach. He felt so guilty for letting that happen. It all was just too fast for him. And Kuroumaru fighting all those guys. What was that? It looked like something out of an action movie. He'd never seen anyone move like that. And of course he couldn't wrap his mind about finding out that Kuroumaru's a girl. He knew he was ultra-feminine but he had been so adamant about being a guy…

Touta tossed and turned for a few more hours before deciding that he couldn't sleep with all these annoying thoughts running through his head. Pulling himself out of his bed he headed out of his room and walked toward the living room. He'd just watch TV for a while. That would hopefully take his mind off things.

Entering the living room, he saw a familiar dark headed figure sitting alone in the dark room. Happiness swelled in him as he realized just how badly he wanted to see him. Kuroumaru's hair was down and all over the place. Even though Touta was a good way in Kuroumaru didn't seem to notice his presence, or possibly was just not acknowledging him.

"Kuroumaru," Touta said as he came closer.

Kuroumaru jumped at Touta's voice and looked at him with wide eyes. He had apparently surprised him. Kuroumaru didn't say anything as Touta sat done closely beside him.

"What are you doing up? I expected you to be out all night. Though I have to admit I'm happy to see you."

Kuroumaru didn't respond as he sadly looked down into his lap.

"Kuroumaru I'm really sorry… I wanted tonight to go well and it ended up the way it did. I swear that next time it will go better."

"Next time," questioned Kuroumaru quietly.

"Yeah, as soon as you're feeling better we'll go on another date."

"Why would you want to go on another date with me?"

"Because you're my boy… friend," Touta said, hesitating a bit on the verbiage. "And up until then I was having the best time."

"But you saw what happened... I almost killed him."

"Yeah… So, what was that anyway?"

"It's what I am: a monster."

"You are not a monster," Touta said with certainty. "Come on, there's more to it than that. Please tell me. I can't help you if you don't tell me."

"I don't want your help," Kuroumaru snapped back before sighing and continuing in a softer tone. "I don't want you to have any part of it."

"Well, that's too bad. Because if you're a part of it than so am I. That's just how it is now."

"T-touta- "

"Just spill the beans already Kuroumaru," Touta said in annoyance before quickly changing his tone and placing his hand over Kuroumaru's. "Please let me be here for you."

They stared into each other before Kuroumaru finally broke the gaze and looked down at Touta's hand. After a few seconds he gave the small hand a small squeeze in attempt to urge him on. A few more minutes passed and Touta was about to resign that Kuroumaru still wasn't ready to talk about it.

"It's my family," Kuroumaru said quietly.

Touta figured that much but kept to himself as he allowed Kuroumaru to continue.

"Remember when I told you about what my family does?

"Yeah, the contract thing."

"Well… It's more complicated than that. I-I'm not even sure where to begin. Have you ever heard of the Yatagarasu?"

"That bad ass yakuza clan? Yeah, who hasn't? Wait… Don't tell me you family does contracts for them. Those people are seriously bad news."

"No," Kuroumaru said as he sighed. "We don't do contracts _for_ them because we… kind of… are them."

"Oh," Touta said as he let it sink in. "Oh…"

"Well, I mean we're just a branch but… yeah. That's who we are. And I," Kuroumaru sighed. "I do very bad things."

"What kind of things," Touta asked, a little afraid of the answer.

"I take people out," Kuroumaru said quietly.

"And by take out you mean…?"

"… I kill them."

Touta closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. That wasn't what he wanted to hear, but he knew it was going to be bad. Not Yakuza assassination bad though. Kuroumaru withdrew his hand and wrapped his arms around his chest.

"The day I came here. I had just finished a job. I… I don't even know who it was. It's easier not knowing. He had a lot of guards. I wasn't told there was going to be so many guards. My escort was shot. There was nothing I could do for him."

"Your side," Touta couldn't help but ask.

"Yes, I didn't even notice until I was standing alone among a room full of the people I had just killed. I picked up my escort's phone to call my brother for an extraction but… I don't know how but my fingers just dialed you instead," Kuroumaru blinked away a few tears.

" I-I don't want to do it! I have to… I'll get in trouble if I don't. I don't want to be in trouble Touta," Kuroumaru said as he became more and more emotional. He was terrified.

Touta hurt seeing Kuroumaru like this but he didn't know what to do. How do you even begin to respond to news like this? He found himself completely unequipped. Doing the only think he could think of he pulled Kuroumaru towards him and a tight embrace. He heard Kuroumaru let out a shaking sob.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to involve you; I'm just so tired. I'm tired of all the killing and death. I'm tired of being hurt. I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me!"

"Hey, hey. Kuroumaru," Touta said as he demanded Kuroumaru to look at him in the face. "I could _never_ hate you. I'm glad that you called me. More than anything. And I promise that you will never go back to that life. I'm with you as long as you'll have me."

"I love you."

As soon as the words left his mouth Touta could see the instant regret as Kuroumaru covered his mouth in shock and looked at him with uncertain eyes. The outburst was obviously unplanned but Touta still beamed at the sudden confession. Kuroumaru somehow brought him from the depths of a shared despair to soaring above the clouds with three words.

"I love you too," Touta easily said back.

Kuroumaru sighed in relief as he leaned back into Touta who hugged him tightly in return. Right now that was what both needed the most. The two teenager stayed tightly wrapped together for what Touta thought was not long enough when Kuroumaru reluctantly pulled away.

"I'm really tired," he admitted through hazy eyes. "I'm mean, I about to pass out tired. I'm… going to bed now."

Kuroumaru slowly pushed himself off the couch and took a wobbly step before falling back on the couch.

"Wow, what did that woman give me? I-I can't feel my legs."

"I'm amazed you even made it out this far," Touta laughed before grabbing the blanket that lined the top of the couch. "Let's just sleep here tonight."

"Here? T-together," Kuroumaru said with an embarrassed blush.

"Yes, here. It will be fun," he said, using his 'it will be an adventure' voice.

Touta leaned back onto the couch and held out his arm to Kuroumaru. Hesitantly Kuroumaru followed suit and leaned onto Touta's chest. Once situated Touta threw the blanket over them and wrapped his arms around a stiff Kuroumaru.

"Are you comfortable," Touta questioned nervously. He felt Kuroumaru nod 'yes'. "Okay, good."

Touta stared up at the ceiling as he silently started to regret his spur of the moment decision. It hadn't even been a minute and he could feel his body react to Kuroumaru on top of him. He felt so warm and soft. And boobs! Dear lord Kuroumaru had boobs and he could feel them. He wasn't sure if he could sleep like this! But at the same time it felt so nice…

"Um… Kuroumaru? Are you asleep," he asked as he glanced down to the top of the raven colored hair. He lifted Kuroumaru's arm with no resistance and dropped in back down.

"Yup, you're out. Man, I wished they could have drugged me too," Touta admitted as he laid his head back down and tried to focus on something other than Kuroumaru pressed up so snugly against him.

 **A/N:**

Happy fun times are almost over. Next chapter things get real! I hope I did okay with the fight scene. I kind of ripped it off the Black Widow from the Avengers as that's kind of how I picture Kuroumaru's skills. Minus all the gadgets.

Honestly I was on the fence about making Kuroumaru a girl or a boy. Canon wise I want him to be a girl because I feel that's what he really wants. In this story, when I started it, the gender wouldn't have mattered either way but I decided that I could really screw with him more emotionally if he's a girl. It actually makes the rest of the story fall together more smoothly.

I hope that I made it clear that Touta's pansexual and that in the end he doesn't care what gender Kuroumaru is. It may be stressed more next chapter though.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Happy 2017! Sorry for the delay as always. I had everything almost typed out months ago before my computer crapped completely out and _this_ was the chapter I didn't have saved to my cloud for some reason. Retyping is fun! Then I got sick for the first time in two years. That sucked too. I'm also a lazy piece of garbage that takes a month to finish three paragraphs. That doesn't help either...

Also, I want to than those who reviewed and sent me PMs. Especially Jam-Man265 and Starsky1196 who gave me the extra push I needed get this chapter up. I hope everyone enjoys!

UQ Summer

By. Amnesty

Touta groaned as he slowly awoke and covered his eyes to try and block out the morning light that was spilling in through his living room windows. Groggily he played back last night in his mind and the embarrassingly impromptu decision to sleep with Kuroumaru on the couch. He could feel Kuroumaru's warm body pressed up against his, breathing deep and steadily. Subconsciously he wrapped his arm around Kuroumaru's waist, pulling him tighter against him. Kuroumaru made a small noise as he nuzzled his head against Touta's chest, still fast asleep. Judging from the dampness he felt on his shirt he was also pretty sure Kuroumaru was drooling. Cute and gross all at the same time.

"Good morning," came Eva's voice from nearby. Touta turned his head and saw her sitting on her chair with a steaming cup of coffee in hand. "Sleep well?"

"Uhhh," Touta mumbled as he nervously glanced down to Kuroumaru. Knowing how this looked his heart began to beat faster as he quickly tried to think of any excuse.

Eva rolled her eyes, sensing Touta's panic and set her mug down on the coffee down.

"Calm down. I'm not angry."

"You're… not? Wait, really," Touta questioned warily.

"Of course, not. I'm not completely unreasonable. I know how much you care for her and understand that after everything that happened last night you wanting to keep her close."

Touta couldn't help but blush in embarrassment as Eva laid everything so flatly.

"Don't get me wrong though, try anything like this again and I'll beat you to an inch of your life. Honestly, the last thing I want is a little Touta running around, tearing my house apart."

"What," Touta shouted a bit too loudly. He covered his mouth and glanced down at Kuroumaru who was still sleeping soundly.

"Do you think I don't notice the way you two look at each other? Or what you do when I leave you two alone for more than five minutes?"

"You don't trust us," Touta accused with a frown.

"Of course, I don't trust you. Obviously. But I also know that I can't watch you two 24/7. I know you're not ready for sex and definitely don't want you to be having it, but I do want to make sure that you're fully prepared if something does happen."

"Oh, god no," Touta groaned as he quickly saw the direction this conversation was heading. He wanted to jump off the couch and run anywhere else, but he also didn't want to wake Kuroumaru. He realized that he was trapped and Eva knew this as well. "Please, we've already gone over this," Touta begged.

"Yes, but now you're in a serious relationship I think it's time for a recap. You still have the condoms I gave you? I want you to always carry some with you."

Touta pulled the decorative pillow from underneath his head and pressed it against his face as Eva went on with the painfully uncomfortable one-sided lecture, though containing a lot more veiled threats this time around. Touta was amazed by Eva's lack of boundaries. She was seriously giving him "The Talk" with the person in question sleeping right on top of him. Mortifying didn't even begin to describe his situation. After what seemed like an eternity Eva finally came to her conclusion and wrapped things up.

"Any questions," Eva asked as she picked up her coffee and took a drink like they were only discussing the weather.

"Nope, I'm good," Touta quickly replied.

"Well, if you think of anything or have any concerns you can always come to-"

"Kay, thanks."

Eva chuckled as she sipped on her drink.

"So," Eva began before pausing to think. "By the looks of it you still want to be with her, even after learning of her little secret?"

Touta felt his heart beat faster as last night's conversation ran through his head. Kuroumaru was an assassin for the yakuza. He's killed people. A lot of people. He didn't like that thought, especially knowing he was forced into by his brother. Weren't older siblings supposed to protect the younger ones? But none of that change the fact that he did still love him... or her. Wait, Eva was probably talking about the later secret of him being a girl. That would make more sense.

"Oh, um... I guess it doesn't really matter to me all that much. I was just surprised and all because he... or… she insisted so heavily to being a boy. I fell in love with Kuroumaru because of Kuroumaru not because he was a boy or a girl. Whatever makes him happier I'm fine with."

"Well, isn't that just sweet," Eva said with a toothy grin. "But I was more talking about her being in the Yatagarasu family and the whole assassin thing. Isn't that what you talked about with her last night?"

Touta's mouth hung agape as he tried to find his words. "Wha… How did you know? Did he already tell you?"

"No, but do you really think I was going to let some random kid stay at my house without knowing who they were and where they came from? I've known for a while now. It also helps that I overheard a bit of your conversation last night."

"You really are nosey, aren't you," Touta asked with a frown before sighing. Eva always had a knack for knowing almost everything that was going on. She was also keen on keeping things hidden and not bringing him into the loop of things unless it was absolutely necessary. He hated it, but had come to terms with how she was. "And even knowing you let her stay?"

"I almost didn't but…It's complicated. Let's just stop with I can sympathize with her situation. Plus, I knew how strongly you felt about her and if I sent her back you would never let me live with myself."

"Thank you, Eva."

"Touta," Eva began in a serious tone. "I just want you to understand that this won't be easy. You don't come out of a situation like hers without deep emotional scars. I'm sure that the more she opens up to you the more you'll see how deep they actually go. So, even knowing _that_ secret, do you still, honestly, want to be with her?"

Touta let out a deep breath and looked down at the tangled mess of raven black hair that hung in every direction. Silently he mulled over the difficult yet easy answer in his head.

"I do, for eternity. I'll take whatever comes and as long as she wants me. I'll always be there for him."

Eva scoffed. "Typically, I take teenagers' love commitments with a grain of salt but I really buy it from you."

Kuroumaru jerked his head up suddenly and began to rub at his eyes, still groggy from the aftereffects of the drugs he was given last night. He blinked a few times up at Touta as his tired gaze with returned with a warm smile.

"Good morning sleepy head, you hungry? I can make you something."

Kuroumaru shook his head 'no' before silently scooting higher up to reposition himself and snuggled against Touta in a groggy stupor. He laid his head into the crook of Touta's neck and closed his eyes again.

"Uh…"

Eva let out a light chuckle. "I think she's going to be out a while longer."

Touta sighed as he felt Kuroumaru drift back into sleep. "Man, I really have to pee though…"

Eva smiled and held her coffee to her lips. "What was that about whatever comes? I think right now that involves holding it in for another hour or so."

* * *

A while later everyone was settled in the living room. Eva was watching her guilty pleasure of soap operas while Touta was sitting at the coffee table doing his algebra workbook. Now awake, Kuroumaru sat in a ball on the couch and stared blankly at the TV with a tight frown. He hadn't spoken much this morning and was in a bit of a bad mood, but it was understandable after everything that had happened the night before so Eva ordered Touta to let him be. Touta suddenly banged his head against his head against the table, drawing the attention of Eva and Kuroumaru.

"I suck at this," Touta complained before lifting his head and furiously began erasing his work.

"Keep at it," Eva said. "It's the only way to get better."

Touta turned and looked up to Eva with large puppy dog eyes.

"Can you please help me?"

"Can't," Eva said as she turned back to the TV, completely unfazed. "I'm on vacation from teaching, remember? Plus, I'm busy right now."

Touta grumbled in annoyance as he began to reset the formula and try again.

"You're setting that up wrong," Kuroumaru said quietly from her seat.

"Hmm," Touta hummed as he glanced up behind him.

"You're setting the formula up wrong. You're forgetting to put the negative on the leading number. That will throw the rest completely off."

"Oh," Touta asked as he looked down at the problem. "That's right. So, you're good at math Kuroumaru?"

"I suppose," Kuroumaru said with a shrug. "My tutor says it's one of my best subjects at least."

"Perfect," he said with an excited grin and grabbed Kuroumaru by his hand. "That means you can help me then."

Kuroumaru frowned in protest as Touta tugged at him. He was too depressed and wasn't really feeling up to doing anything right now. He just wanted to sit in his own little bubble and contemplate how much he hated himself, but Touta seemed to have different plans.

"Please," Touta begged as he leaned in and pecked Kuroumaru's knuckles then looking up at him with big doe eyes. "Please, please, please," he continued between each peck of the hand.

A blush spread across Kuroumaru's cheeks as he groaned in protest, but he felt himself quickly begin to cave. Touta always seemed to have that effect over him.

"Okay," Kuroumaru said reluctantly as he allowed himself to be pulled down to the floor next to Touta.

"Yes," Touta cheered triumphantly and pushed his book to where it was between the two of them.

"I guess I'll just watch you and let you know if I see anything that needs adjustment."

"Sounds good to me," Touta said, thankful for the help.

Touta started the equation again, this time setting the formula correctly under Kuroumaru's watchful eyes. Touta continued the equation until Kuroumaru placed a hand over his wrist.

"Oh, Touta... That's very wrong. Here, let me show you," Kuroumaru said as he took the pencil from Touta's hand and began to rework the problem.

"Yeah, that makes more sense… I guess," Touta said as he followed along.

"And," Kuroumaru said as he checked some of his other problems. "You're doing too much unnecessary work on problems like these. Let me show you an easier way."

Touta smiled as he watched Kuroumaru fall into his work, explaining things as he went. Apparently, this was a good distraction for him. After a few minutes Touta reached over and ran his fingers through Kuroumaru's still loose hair and pushed it back over his shoulder so he could see his face unobstructed.

"Touta," Kuroumaru said with a flushed face and tight frown. "Are you even listening to me?"

"No, not really," Touta admitted with a cheesy grin.

Kuroumaru turned toward Touta and puffed his cheeks in annoyance. "Honestly, why ask for my help if you're not going to apply yourself?"

"It's just hard to focus when you look so cute when thinking."

"Oh, stop it," Kuroumaru said as his face grew redder.

"Please do," Eva quipped off handedly.

"We should take a break," Touta said as he inched closer.

"We just started… And you're being annoying," Kuroumaru countered as he began trying to work at the problem again.

Touta smirked wickedly and leaned over, cupping Kuroumaru's ear with his hand and began to whisper deviously. Kuroumaru's face began to turn deeper shades of red and he couldn't help but let out a fit of giggles as he pushed Touta away.

"You're horrible! Stop," Kuroumaru commanded as he turned and continued the equation.

Kuroumaru made a few scratches with his pencil before pausing to let out another quick laugh, think back on what Touta just whispered in his ear. He gave him a sideways glance and smiled as Touta was still grinning at him like a child. Kuroumaru brought his pencil to the bottom of the page and wrote a private message before turning the paper so Touta could read. Touta smiled even broader as he took the pencil from Kuroumaru's hand responded with his own message.

Eva glanced at the two giggling teenagers as they continued their flirtatious back and forth correspondence, workbook completely forgotten at this point. Touta being facetious as always grabbed Kuroumaru's hand as he attempted to write something and took over, forcing him to write what he preferred instead. Kuroumaru protested but didn't seem to mind too much, especially when Touta put his arm around his waist to lean in and whisper in his ear again. Kuroumaru brought a hand to his mouth to hide the embarrassed smile.

"All right, I've had enough," Eva said as she stood from her chair and began to walk toward her bedroom.

She was happy Touta was doing an adequate job at making the girl feel better but his methods were irritating. Before reaching the hallway, she paused and looked over her shoulder back at Touta and Kuroumaru who weren't phased in the slightest from her departure. Actually, she was doubting they even noticed. She mulled over an idea that has passed through her head on more than one occasion and decided that now was as good a time as any.

"Kuroumaru, come with me for a moment. I want to have a chat with you."

"Eh," Kuroumaru questioned with a worried look as he and Touta turned to her. "W-w-what about?" He gasped after quickly realizing he was talking back and nodded quickly before standing to his feet and walking dutifully towards Eva.

Touta looked at Eva with a raised eyebrow as he wracked his brain over what Eva was planning. Once he figured it out his eyes shot open. "No… I'm begging you, please don't."

"I don't want to do this either but it needs to be done, and the sooner out of the way the better in my opinion."

With that Eva turned away and continued to her bedroom with a nervous Kuroumaru in tow. Once inside Eva closed the door behind them for privacy and took a seat on her plush bed. Eva patted the spot next to her, motioning Kuroumaru to sit. Timidly Kuroumaru wrapped his arms around himself tightly and slowly obeyed, sitting beside the older woman.

Kuroumaru was feeling very apprehensive about the current predicament but tried his best not to show it. Showing too much emotion always got him into even more trouble. Was Eva finally going to punish him for last night? He was waiting for this all morning. Honestly, Eva had been very forgiving since he'd came to stay with them but there were limits to anyone's generosity. He really was a useless person and he'd deserved any punishment Eva had planned for him. It was easiest to just to take it and move on.

"I won't lie. This will be very awkward for both of us, but it's something that needs to be done."

Kuroumaru nodded wordlessly as he avoided eye contact while Eva spoke.

"Now, I'm not quite sure where to start as I don't know what's already been covered with you, but I do somehow doubt it's been much."

Kuroumaru tilted his head in confusion but allowed Eva to continue.

"I want you to understand that anything said will stay just between us so feel free to speak openly. Understand?"

"Y- yes."

"Touta, he is your first relationship I assume, correct?"

"Of course, I'm not allowed to date. Well… I'm not supposed to be," he added with a soft blush.

"I remember being your age. New relationships are exciting and the feelings are always intense... And sometimes one thing can lead to another, even if you weren't planning on it to. So… You know what? Wait here a moment," Eva said as she stood and walked into her private bathroom for a few seconds before returning and sitting back down. She passed Kuroumaru a small package with tiny circular pills in separate compartments.

"Straight to the point."

Kuroumaru turned the small package in his hand as he eyed it curiously. This exchange wasn't turning out anywhere close to where he thought it would, but knew there had to a point to this conversation.

"Medicine? What is this for exactly? I'm already taking the antibiotics you gave me earlier."

Eva's mouth widened in surprise for a split second before she ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. She didn't know why she was all that surprised. It was just wishful thinking on her part she supposed.

"It's a contraception pill," Eva explained, watching Kuroumaru turn to her with a surprised look on his face.

"Oh… Why are there so many though? I thought you just took one after… you know."

"What are you talking about… Plan B? You know about the morning after pill but not the everyday pill?"

"I overheard some of my brother's men talking about needing to get one before."

"Is that where you get your information from? Weren't there any women for you to talk to at home?"

"Only my brother ever really spoke to me. No one really likes me there," Kuroumaru said as he held out the pills back for Eva to take.

"Those are for you. I want you to start taking them just in case. Now, I'll help you get into routine. I know taking a pill every day out of the blue is hard to keep up when you're not used to it, but this is very important."

"W-why?"

"Because you and Touta living under the same roof is just asking for it, and this should keep you from getting pregnant if-"

"Pregnant!? What, me? N-no… I can't," Kuroumaru shrieked as he slammed the pills on the bed between them.

"Of course, you can," Eva said with a sigh. "Saying you're a boy alone, no matter how profusely, won't keep you from getting pregnant if you two start having sex. I'm mean… You _do_ understand that you're female, right," Eva asked curiously.

"I'm not that naive Eva," Kuroumaru snapped. "I know that biologically I'm… _female_ ," he added shamefully. "It's just… Um…."

"So, what's the problem here then?"

"I can't talk about this," Kuroumaru said while covering his face and shaking his head in protest. He turned away from Eva, more afraid than embarrassed.

"Of course, you can," Eva said, trying to sound convincing. "It's just you and me right now so you can say anything you want. I am kind of bulldozing all of this, aren't I? This was a lot easier with Touta for some reason. I'll try a slow it down a bit."

"You don't understand," Eva could hear Kuroumaru begin to mutter. "It's simply not allowed. It's not worth it…."

"Kuroumaru," Eva said as she gently placed her hand on Kuroumaru's arm.

The way Kuroumaru ripped his arm away was like she had touched her with a hot iron. Kuroumaru turned and looked at Eva with large, fearful eyes. Eva hated that Kuroumaru was still afraid of her. The only person she didn't seem to have any fear of was Touta.

"I'm not going to hurt you- ever. And I'll do all I can to make sure no one ever does again." Eva earnestly said, relaxing Kuroumaru, if only slightly. "Kuroumaru, I want to help you but you have to be open with me for me to do that. I can see this is hurting you. I just can't figure out why your brother wouldn't let you be a girl. Can you tell me?"

Kuroumaru bit his lip in apprehension as he tried to come up with an answer. Eventually he just shrugged, acknowledging that even he didn't know why. Only that it was wrong to be otherwise.

"Do you want to be a girl?"

"I don't know… I've never thought about it before."

"You really are a bad liar, I can see right through you, you know? Talk to me honestly."

"…All I know is that it's unnatural… And disgusting and immoral for me to be a girl."

"No, it's not. That's just a ridiculous lie you were told. You're brother's obviously sick."

"That's not true," Kuroumaru said quickly. "My brother is just doing what's best for me. He knows me better than anyone, even Touta. I'm the one who's sick, not him."

Eva inhaled sharply as she bit her tongue and tried to reign in her instincts to snap at the teenager defending her obvious abuser. That was a mindset that would take a while to break her away from but wasn't what she was wanting to focus on right now. Eva sighed and began to massage her temples as she tried to think.

"Let's just start with some basics since we can both at least agree that you're biologically female, okay? Do you have any questions about how your body works? Something that you couldn't ask anyone at home?"

Kuroumaru looked at Eva in thought for a moment before her face began to flush. She began tapping her finger's together nervously as she glanced away in embarrassment.

"Well… now that you mention it. I might have a few questions…."

* * *

Touta sighed as he turned and looked at his open door from inside his bedroom. Eva and Kuroumaru had been talking for hours now. What could be taking them so long? Turning back to his computer game he continued though the bright countryside, killing rouge mages and picking flowers. After what felt like an eternity later he heard Eva's door finally open. He paused his game and went to his door just in enough time to see Kuroumaru tuck away into his room across the hall and close the door quickly behind him.

"Hey, Kuroumaru," Touta called out but was interrupted by Eva, who seemingly appeared out of nowhere, and roughly began to give him a noogie. "Ow! Hey, what gives?"

"Kuroumaru needs some time to herself right now and you need to let her have it."

"Huh? What did you guys talk about? Our "talks" never lasted anywhere near that long."

"That's none of your business, now is it," Eva questioned plainly. "Now let's go do something. It's been a while since just you and me have spent time together. How does cards sound?"

"Cards? That's so old-fashioned though," Touta replied.

"I like cards. Indulge me."

"Yeah, okay," Touta said with a smirk as he followed Eva into the living room area, but not before casting a worried look towards Kuroumaru's closed door.

Touta and Eva sat around the coffee table and began a game filled with comfortable chatter. After a few rounds of cards Touta glanced behind towards the quiet hallway.

"He's been in there for a while now… Maybe I should go check on him?"

"She's fine," Eva said as she shuffled the deck of cards. "I just put a thought in her head that she's thinking over."

As if on cue, Kuroumaru's door from the hallway could be heard opening. Touta perked up as he expected Kuroumaru to come and join them.

"E-Eva," came Kuroumaru's voice from the hallway, out of sight. "Could I talk to you for a moment please?"

"Coming," Eva said as she placed her hand down and stood to walk to Kuroumaru's bedroom, patting Touta's head as she passed by.

Touta let out an annoyed sigh as he leaned back on the couch. He supposed he was expected to just sit around and wait again. To pass the time he flipped on the TV with the remote and pulled himself onto the couch. Thankfully it wasn't too long (but still longer than he liked) until Eva came back into the living room with Kuroumaru in tow.

'Finally,' Touta thought as he smiled at Kuroumaru as he entered. Kuroumaru said nothing, though flushed a bit as he turned his head away, shyly avoiding him. 'What was up with him,' Touta wondered.

"We're going out for a few hours," Eva said as she grabbed her purse.

"Okay, I'll go get my wallet."

"Sorry, specifically Kuroumaru and I are going out for a few hours."

"I can't come?"

"Sorry, not this time."

"Why not," Touta questioned as he looked between Eva and Kuroumaru, the later growing a bit redder and still avoiding eye contact.

"Oh… you'll find out soon enough," Eva answered with a coy smile. "Let's go Kuroumaru."

Eva walked to the garage door with a silent Kuroumaru close behind. They quickly left, leaving Touta alone in the house. Touta threw his arms up in exasperation at being left behind so callously. There was nothing he could really do about now though so he resigned himself to plopping down on the couch while he waited for everyone to get back.

* * *

A few hours had passed and it was beginning to get dark outside. Touta was almost to the point of insanity. If he still had his phone he would have messaged them long ago. It's not that he wasn't the clingy type but he had gotten used to spending all day with Kuroumaru and missed having him around. He also liked hanging out with Eva too and was admittedly a bit jealous that they were having one on one time. It was an odd mixture of being jealous for both of them because both of them.

Finally, the garage door could be heard opening and not a minute later Eva came through the door, dropping her purse and a pile of bags on the ground. Touta looked past her as he walked over but didn't see Kuroumaru following her in. He couldn't help but have the fear of Eva ditching him somewhere cross his mind.

"I got you a new phone," she said, reaching into her purse and handing Touta his new cell phone.

"Thanks," Touta said as he took the device and slipped it into his pocket. "Where's Kuroumaru?"

"She's embarrassed and doesn't want to come in," Eva said flatly.

"What's he embarrassed for?"

"I think you should just go out and get her," she answered cryptically and walked away.

Touta quirked an eyebrow and turned the handle to the garage door and pushed his way in. He heard a girlish squeak as he saw Kuroumaru, who was standing next to the car, quickly turn away, loose black hair whipping around him. He stopped dead in his tracks in surprise as he took in the surprise. He felt his heart beat quicken and his face heat up as it sunk in that Kuroumaru was now wearing a dress.

"W-wait! I'm not ready for you to see me yet," Kuroumaru cried out in a panic as she gripped the skirt of her dress. "Go back inside!"

"What? Are you crazy? No way," Touta said with an idiotic grin as he made his way over. "Let me see," he excitedly demanded as he tried to circle around Kuroumaru.

Kuroumaru quickly anticipated his moves and matched his efforts by continuously turning away from him as he attempted to get a better look at her.

"Seriously Kuroumaru? Please," Touta begged as he placed a hand on her arm.

Kuroumaru shook at his touch before letting out a deep breath and slowly turned towards Touta so he could get a better look. She was wearing a flowy mid-thigh length baby blue dress with white dots and flowers scattered about. Cinched around the waist was a carefully tied bright orange bow that matched the underskirt that poked slight underneath the bottom of the skirt of the dress. She was completely done up with a bracelet that matched the pattern of the dress and a long stylish necklace hanging around her neck. A white bow was in her hair, pulling back some of her bangs so her eyes were unobstructed as they usually were. She was even wearing a dash of neutral makeup that really brought out the ample supply of natural beauty she had.

"Wow," was all Touta could say as he took her all in.

Kuroumaru's face was flushed as she wrapped her arms around her and pouted.

"I l-look stupid…."

"What? You're crazy if you think you look stupid because you look… wow," Touta said again as he looked her up and down. "I mean, you look the same but… different all at the same time."

"You hate it, don't you? I'll go change right now," she cried out, flailing her arms about.

"What? No! You look really… beautiful," Touta admitted as he took her hands in his.

"Y-you really think so," Kuroumaru asked in disbelief. She could feel her heart beating a mile a minute and was beginning to feel a bit light headed.

"Definitely," Touta confirmed ecstatically. "Now, come on," Touta said as he turned and led Kuroumaru back into the house by the hand.

Eva was still in the Livingroom going through the shopping bags, but when Touta and Kuroumaru got inside she excused herself and went outside. Something about watering the dying flowers outside and giving them some time to talk alone. Touta was grateful for the privacy and sat with Kuroumaru on the couch. He wasn't prepared for this and wasn't exactly sure where to start.

"So… Um. How do you feel?"

"Honestly? I'm really… confused," Kuroumaru admitted as she clenched her fists around her skirt as she thought about her words. "I have been told my entire life what I'm supposed to be and how to act. Most of the time I don't even feel like a real person. Just some… _thing_. After talking with Eva and now that I'm away from home maybe now's my chance to give this a try. But, I don't know how it's working out. I just feel really self-conscious."

"You're just not used to it yet. You really do look beautiful," Touta assured. He smiled as he got the desired effect from a flushing Kuroumaru who then buried her face in her hands.

"Unn, I'm so messed up. I'm doing everything I'm not supposed to do, aren't I."

Touta rolled his eyes and sighed before inching closer to Kuroumaru and cupped his cheeks so she would look at him.

"Guess what," Touta asked with a smirk.

"W-what?"

"I love you. I don't care how messed up you think you are. I just want you to do whatever you need to be happy. That's all I care about, because I love you."

Kuroumaru blinked a few times as she tried to wrap her mind around Touta's confession, as well as their new closeness. Eventually she smiled back at Touta and nodded and reached up to brush her hand against Touta's cheek. Her smiled broadened when Touta gulped and his face reddened to match hers. She closed her eyes and leaned slightly in, expecting Touta to meet her the rest of the way like she had become accustomed to.

"You next," Touta said as Kuroumaru opened her eyes and looked at him in confusion.

"Pardon?"

"I said it so now I want you to say it."

Realization flashed across her eyes and she began to stammer.

"W-what? No! I c-can't, it's too embarrassing!"

"But you said it last night, with ease!"

"I was drugged!"

"Come on, please? I want to hear you say it again."

Kuroumaru frowned as she took a steading breath in attempt to calm her nerves. It didn't work. After then clearing her throat she looked at Touta who was looking at her in anticipation.

"I… love you," she muttered, barely audible.

Touta snickered before bursting into laughter. Kuroumaru looked at him in aggravated mortification.

"What? Why are you laughing?"

"I'm sorry," Touta said apologetically between laughs. "I'm just really happy right now."

Kuroumaru opened her mouth to protest her annoyance but quickly felt Touta's lips pressed against hers, alleviating any qualms she had. She wrapped her arms tightly around his shoulders as he pulled her closer with his arms around her waist. They sighed in a happy bliss as they enjoyed the feeling of being together.

* * *

Eva fought with the garden hose in one hand while holding her cell phone to her ear with the other. She sprayed the flower bushes that lined the side of her house as she listened patiently to the voice on the other end.

"That's my point Nodoka," Eva interjected. "That's why you should come to talk to her. You're the therapist, not me. By the way, do you have any idea how uncomfortable it is explaining what's happening when you get "turned on" by the kid you've been raising for forever? It's very very uncomfortable."

While listening to Nodoka do her psychoanalysis thing she did Eva violently pulled at the hose again as she wrapped around the side of the house to the front. She started watering the plants up front, thinking that she was mostly likely just prolonging their suffering at this point with how bad they looked. Maybe should hire a landscape artist?

"Now that you mention it, it did go rather well, all considering. She couldn't pick out her own clothes by herself so I had to grab a few things for her to try on. It only took me and the sales associate nearly an hour of telling her how pretty she looked before we could coarse her out of the dressing room. And… Oh, dear god, give me a second."

Eva pointed the nozzle of the hose toward the window and gave it a quick spray. The two teenagers kissing on the couch jumped in surprise and looked at the window with wide eyes. Eva made a quick gesture with her hand telling them she was watching them and to behave themselves. Kuroumaru and Touta quickly separated and looked away from each other, obviously embarrassed at being caught.

Eva sighed as she put the phone back to her ear. "Sorry Nodoka, those two are going to be the death of me one day, I swear. Oh, and before I forget, did Yue plant that paper trail for me yet? I also need those documents… Well tell her to hurry up. I can only do so much stuck here babysitting… Yeah, I can meet you. When? … That works. Will Negi be there? … No reason, just curious. I'll see you in a few days," Eva said as she hung up.

Eva looked back through the window and saw that they were still sitting a respectful way apart. Touta was beaming brightly as he was leaned over towards Kuroumaru as she held out the new cell phone she had gotten for her when she replaced Touta's. She smiled softly at the two before going back to watering her dying plants.

* * *

It had been a few days since Kuroumaru's transformation. She and Touta were outside on the backyard swing, enjoying the warm weather. Touta slowly swung the swing back and forth with his leg that was hanging over the side. His arm was draped over Kuroumaru's shoulder who was leaning against him, reading one of his old books. Touta smiled as he glanced down at his girlfriend as she turned a page.

Her hair was in its normal updo she had always worn but now dressed in another one of the new outfits Eva helped her pick out. It was a loose and white long tank top with a thin ribbon set in the dip of the collar. As a huge bonus, she was wearing a pair of tight back shorts, showing off the legs that he loved. She was definitely looking good.

It was hard to explain but Kuroumaru seemed a lot happier like this. Like a huge weight was lifted off her shoulders and she was free to be more herself. Amazing what a simple wardrobe and pronoun change could do for a person.

A smile spread across Touta's lips as he leaned down he gave her a quick peck on the top of her head. Kuroumaru lifted her face toward him and gave him a warm smile before returning to her reading. Touta smiled back as he rested his head back and enjoyed the warm sun beating down on him.

Both of their phones chimed and Touta grabbed his phone from next to him to read the text message. It was a group text from Nikumaru. Apparently, everyone was wanting to meet up at the arcade and wanted to see if he and Kuroumaru could join up.

"Hey, want to meet everyone at the arcade?"

"That sounds like fun," she said as she closed her book and sat up. "I'll go get changed," she said while stretching her back.

"Changed?"

"W-well," Kuroumaru said as her face reddened slightly. "I can't go out like this."

"Why not? You look really pretty."

A smile flashed across her face as she shyly looked away. "It's just… I'm okay with you and Eva seeing me dressed like this but there's no way I could go where other people could see me. I can't explain it but just thinking about it makes my stomach hurt…."

"Okay, whenever you're ready. I'll go ask Eva if we can take the car."

"The arcade isn't that far."

"I know, but we'll get there faster if we drive, right? Does my driving scare you or something?"

"Well, you did run that red light last time."

"Yeah? Well, shut up," Touta retorted as he led the way back to the house.

"Nice comeback. I'm _very_ impressed."

"At least I have my license."

"I'm not old enough to have one yet!"

"No? Have you ever even driven a car before?"

"Well… no…"

"I thought so. So, you have no room to talk."

Kuroumaru rolled her eyes as she followed Touta into the back door and went straight to her room to change while Touta continued down the hall to Eva's room. He knocked on the closed door and waited for Eva to open.

"What's up kid," Eva questioned after she opened the door.

"Kuroumaru and I are going to the arcade, can I borrow the car?"

"Sorry, I need it tonight. I'm actually about to head out myself."

"Really? Where are you going? It's not a date, is it," he asked suspiciously.

"Maybe it is," Eva said, elusively as ever. "Either way you can't have the car. I'm not sure when I'll be back, but just in case I'll move money to your account so you can order pizza."

"Okay," Touta said as he turned to see Kuroumaru exit her bedroom in her typical male persona.

Eva's eyes narrowed as she examined Kuroumaru. "Kuroumaru?"

"Yes?"

"Did you bind your chest again?"

"Oh! Um…" Kuroumaru mumbled, covering his chest.

"What did I tell you? You can't do that while you're still healing. Go take it off."

Kuroumaru's face flushed. "B-but, it doesn't hurt anymore!"

"No buts, It's not good for you. We bought all of those cute bras, go put one on."

Touta coughed as his face lit up, imagining what Kuroumaru looked like in a "cute" bra.

"Eva," Kuroumaru shouted in embarrassment.

Eva snapped her fingers and pointed to Kuroumaru's room, making here silent command. Kuroumaru moaned before turning on his heels and going back to his room to redress.

* * *

Once they made it to the arcade everyone met up at the cafeteria inside and sat around a table. The boys knew summer would soon be over and was excited to get started and take advantage of the time they had left.

"Aren't you hot Kuroumaru? It's like, a billion degrees outside," Shoku asked, seeing that he was wearing one of Touta's gym jackets from school, zipped all the way up.

"I'm fine thank you," Kuroumaru replied. "It's not that hot in here."

"Yeah, but it's still pretty warm and you'll get hotter when we start playing."

"I'm more comfortable like this, I assure you."

"I was thinking of hitting Hero's Duty first," Kashu interjected energetically. "How does that sound Kuroumaru? I kill at that game. I'll show you how to play if you want," he added enthusiastically, throwing an arm around Kuroumaru's shoulder playfully.

"You guys can go ahead. Kuroumaru doesn't like violent games so I want to show him that space racing game instead. We'll catch up with you guys in a little bit. Ready Kuroumaru," Touta asked as he stood up from the table.

Kuroumaru nodded before politely pulling away from Kashu and standing so he could follow Touta onto the arcade floor. Touta lead him past all the blinking lights and loud whirling sounds before getting to two chairs sitting side-by-side in front of a large screen. They both sat down and Touta quickly went over the controls before starting the game up.

After choosing their starships Touta picked the racing track and soon they were lined up with a number of AI ships. There was a short countdown and they were then off, flying through the stars. Touta had obviously played the game a few times as he expertly swerved up, around, and below the competition, sticking close to the lead. Kuroumaru wasn't doing nearly as well and was strategically ramming into the other drivers as well as slamming into the particle barrier wall that lined the track.

"Yes," Touta shouted as he crossed the finish line with 1st showing large on his screen.

He turned to Kuroumaru as he frantically tried to finish the race. He finally crossed the finish line with only one shuttle coming up behind him. Kuroumaru let out a deep breath as he leaned his head against the seat.

"That was surprisingly difficult."

"Have fun though?"

"I suppose."

"So… I got 1st place. That gets a kiss, right?"

Kuroumaru let out a surprised laugh before glancing around to make sure no one was looking and leaned over the console to give Touta a swift kiss on his cheek.

"Really? That's all 1st place gets? A peck on the cheek?"

"I'll kiss you more when we get home," Kuroumaru promised with a blush.

Touta smiled at Kuroumaru calling his house home as well as the promise of more kissing later. Always a huge plus.

"So, you're saying we should go home now?"

"Touta!"

"I'm only _partially_ kidding," he laughed. "Want to play again instead?"

"Okay," Kuroumaru said as he settled back in his chair, thankful no one was watching how embarrassed he was.

They started the game back up and Touta was doing great as always. Kuroumaru was still struggling but was keeping up much better than before. By then end Touta squeaked by in 2nd place, while Kuroumaru snagged 7th.

"I suck at this game," Kuroumaru pouted.

"Want do something else then?"

"Yeah," Kuroumaru said as he climbed out of the seat.

"I told you you had no room to talk about my driving skills," Touta teased playfully as they fell into step with one another and subconsciously linked hands as they walked.

"Oh? Is that why you wanted to play that game? To prove a point? I highly doubt driving a spaceship in a _video game_ translates well into driving an _actually_ car."

"You know, I'm sure Eva would teach you how to drive if you ask her."

"You think she would?"

"Sure, you have to learn eventually anyway. Plus, your birthday is super close now so you can get your license once you learn. Speaking of which I need to order your cake. What flavor do you like?"

"Ooo, I haven't had cake in forever. I don't even know… Can I have a strawberry cake," Kuroumaru asked in excitement.

"You're the birthday girl. You can have whatever you want."

Kuroumaru laughed happily as she thought about what an actually birthday party would be like. Eventually they made their way around to where the others were still playing Hero's Duty. Shoku was teaming up with Sakka as they fought through the alien horde. Kashu turned and saw them approached and waved them over. He glanced down and caught the two holding hands a quickly turned away awkwardly.

"I'm going to run to the bathroom. I'll be right back okay," Touta said to Kuroumaru.

"Oh… um… okay," Kuroumaru said as Touta pulled away and darted away, leaving him alone with his friends.

After quickly making his way to the restrooms and finishing his business Touta headed back to the arcade floor. When he exited the restroom, he paused, catching sight of a few guys that looked a bit out of place. Though it wasn't too uncommon to see adults in the arcade they didn't quite fit the typical mold. They stood to the wall near the exit, not talking, and just… people watching, he guessed. One of them turned to his direction and nudged another next to him. Soon all were looking at him with stern frowns. Touta gave them an awkward wave before they all turned and went outside.

"What a bunch of weirdos," Touta commented with a shrug and headed back toward where he left Kuroumaru with the others.

When he got back to his friends he noticed that Kuroumaru and Kashu wasn't around. He glanced around, expecting them to be playing at a nearby game but neither were in sight.

"Where'd Kuroumaru go," Touta asked.

"Just as I said he would," Shoku said as he continued shooting. "Kuroumaru said he was getting hot so Kashu went with him to get a drink."

"Ah," Touta said as he turned and started heading towards the cafeteria.

As he got closer he could make out Kashu's singing and guitar playing. Touta furrowed his eyebrows, wondering where Kashu even hid his guitar away. He didn't remember seeing him with him earlier. A spilt-second later he recognized the song he was playing. It was that one stupid song he always played for cute girls that he was trying to impress and win over. It typically worked pretty well for him too. Touta felt his stomach turn and his heart pace pick up. He clenched his fists and sped up.

When he reached the cafeteria area he saw them sitting too close to each other and while Kuroumaru sipped on his drink, Kashu was next to her strumming and singing along. Once he was in sight Kuroumaru turned and his eyes lit up, but quickly faded as he picked up on the negative body language.

"What are you doing," Touta questioned Kashu.

"Oh, hey. I was just showing Kuroumaru my guitar."

"Showing Kuroumaru your guitar? Seriously, was that all you were doing," Touta questioned venomously.

"Yeah," Kashu spat back with an equal glare. "What exactly are you accusing me off?"

"I know you, and you know what you were doing. What the hell?"

Kuroumaru said nothing as he looked worriedly between the two boys. Not picking up what they were arguing about.

"We weren't doing anything because, unlike you, I'm not gay!" Kashu loudly protested, unintentionally swinging the neck of his guitar into Kuroumaru, knocking his drink out of his hands and splashing it onto his jacket. Kuroumaru gasped in surprise and began to panic.

"Shoot, I'm sorry," Kashu quickly said as he grabbed some napkins that were sitting in the middle of the table.

"It's fine," Kuroumaru quickly replied as he grabbed the napkins out of his hands and began to pat dry the front of his jacket.

"You're soaked. Should we go home," Touta asked.

"It's fine," Kuroumaru said again, starting to get annoyed.

"It's not that big of a deal," Kashu said as he leaned over to Kuroumaru. "It's just water on a jacket- just take it off," he finished as he without warning reached over and unzipped the jacket.

Kuroumaru gasped as the jacket fell open. Underneath she was wearing his typical white dress shirt but the dampness made it slightly see-through. The ruffled floral bra he was wearing was clearly visible underneath the fabric as well as the modest assets it held. Kuroumaru's face turned beat red as he quickly zipped the jacket back up. Touta stared down with his mouth agape and blushed cheeks.

"Oh, wait… what," Kashu asked as he stared wide eyed at Kuroumaru, trying to process what he got a peek of. "Shit… I'm not gay. Thank god I'm not gay," Kashu cried out in relief.

"I knew it," Touta shouted as he pointed at Kahsu. "You were hitting on Kuroumaru!"

"Sorry, my bad."

"Now I want to go home," Kuroumaru said as he quickly stood up and began rushing towards the exit with budding tears in his eyes.

"Wait Kuroumaru," Touta called out as he rushed out after him.

"I'm so embarrassed," Kuroumaru said quickly as he clenched his fists to his side, quickly walking in the direction of home.

"It's okay. It's not a big deal."

"You know it's a big deal to me," Kuroumaru hissed as he quickly walked down the sidewalk that lead to Touta's house.

"I'm sorry, please don't be mad."

"You were being such a jerk. That never would have happened if you weren't acting that way. I don't even want to talk to you right now."

"I-"

"Don't talk to me Touta!"

Touta quickly shut his mouth as he trailed behind Kuroumaru who was actively staying a step ahead of him. He mentally cursed himself as he acknowledged that he could have handled that situation a million times better.

Once they got home Kuroumaru went straight to his room. Touta winced as he heard the door slam. He hit himself in the head in frustration as he tried to think of a way to get back in Kuroumaru's good graces. Normally he would talk to Eva about his screw ups but she didn't seem to be home yet.

He plopped down on the couch as he replayed the incident over in his head, uselessly going over possible different outcomes. Maybe giving her pizza would help. Like a peace offering or something. He grabbed his phone and ordered a pizza online. Kuroumaru had never been mad at him before, not like this anyway and he was willing to do whatever he could to make it up to her.

Later on, Kuroumaru came out from her room dressed in the more feminine clothing she was wearing earlier that day. She sighed as she looked at Touta sitting on the couch, looking like a kicked puppy. Taking a calming breath, she went to him and sat down beside him.

"I am so sorry," Touta automatically began. "I don't know what came over me. I just saw you with Kashu and I got so mad. I shouldn't have gotten that mad. I mean… I trust you. I was jealous and stopped thinking. I didn't mean to embarrass you like that and definitely not them finding out your secret, especially like that. Ugh, are you still mad at me?"

Kuroumaru inhaled and let out a long breath.

"A bit, but I forgive you… I guess even you aren't perfect. It's actually kind of relieving in a way."

"Perfect? Wait, you thought I was perfect," Touta said chuckling.

"It's not funny."

"It kind of is. Seriously? I'm doing stupid stuff and messing things up all over the place. I thought you were just being nice not calling me out on it."

Kuroumaru giggled softly as she folded her hands on her lap. "I guess I didn't notice… Um, if it makes you feel better, I didn't even like the song."

"You didn't?"

"No, I thought it was cheesy and repetitive."

Touta smirked and let out a quick laugh. "Good, that actually does make me feel better."

"Also," Kuroumaru said softly as she shyly turned more toward Touta. "I still owe Mr. 1st Place a kiss."

Touta smiled broadly as he placed his hand on Kuroumaru's cheek and closed his eyes as they leaned into a kiss. It was slow and held an ample amount of deep emotions in it. When separated, they held their foreheads together as the breathed each other in.

"I love you," Touta said as he brushed his thumb across her cheek.

"I love you," Kuroumaru replied back. "More than anything."

Touta pulled Kuroumaru back into a passionate and deep kiss. His hands roamed up and down her back while she clung to him for dear life. Touta tugged at Kuroumaru and pulled her to where she was straddling him on the couch. Kuroumaru cupped Touta's cheeks as she and Touta's continued their unbroken kiss. As the heat rose between them Touta couldn't help but let his natural instincts kick in and unintentionally grinded up against her. This earned an interesting squeak from Kuroumaru who pulled away and paused the make-out session to look at Touta with dilated, lusty eyes.

"Sorry," was all Touta could think to say as he breathed heavily, wanting to continue. "Do we need to stop?" _'Please say no. Please say no. Please say no.'_

Kuroumaru bit her lip as she reached down and placed her hand over Touta's. She inched his hand up higher and higher until he was cupping her breast over her shirt. Touta flicked his eyes up to Kuroumaru as he began massaging her softly. Kuroumaru subconsciously closed her eyes and tilted her head to the side as she allowed Touta to touch her pleasantly. Touta took advantage of Kuroumaru's exposed neck and leaned in and aggressively began to suck, stirring an agreeable moan from Kuroumaru. Their bodies began to slowly move together in sync. Touta twisted around so that Kuroumaru would fall on her back on the couch. With a swift motion, he discarded his shirt, revealing his toned torso.

"Oh… wow," Kuroumaru uttered breathlessly as she gently brushed her fingers over his pecks down his abs. "Wow…"

Touta smiled as he leaned back down to continue their intense make-out session. Kuroumaru wrapped her toned legs around Touta as he continuously moved against her in a painfully satisfying way. He worked his hand back up to her breast and began to tease it.

A sudden pounding at the door broke their concentration and Touta shot up in surprise, half expecting Eva to walk in any second and break them up.

"Who is that," Kuroumaru asked between heavy breaths.

"Shit, I ordered pizza," he panted. "We're good," Touta yelled loudly toward the door. "Just leave the pizza and I'll… I'll get it in a second." Touta looked at Kuroumaru and leaned in to start kissing again but was automatically disturbed by louder, continuous knocking.

"Agh," Touta whined as he shot up from the couch and to the door. "Two seconds," he reassured Kuroumaru. This was the farthest he had ever gotten with a girl. He didn't know where it was heading but he was certain that he didn't want to stop.

Touta opened the door, fully intending to just grab the pizza and toss it to the side but as soon as he unlatched the door it was forced open and the men he saw earlier today in the arcade swarmed in. Before he could react one slammed his arm against his throat and painfully forced him against the wall. Touta tried to gasp for air but found that he couldn't.

"No," Touta heard Kuroumaru cry out. "Etsuji, let him go!"

"Get your things. We're taking you home," one of the other men said.

"No," Touta breathlessly said as he uselessly attempted to swing his arm Etsuji.

Etsuji grabbed Totua by the hair and pulled his head forward before slamming it back against the wall, arm still pressed roughly against his neck. This sent Touta's head reeling and the force of the blow made his ears ring.

"Let's just go. I'm ready to go right now," Kuroumaru said in a panicky voice. "Just let him go."

"Not until you get your things," Etsuji said. "Your brother wants to see everything you've been up to since taking off. Or should I break his neck instead? Your choice."

Kuroumaru let out a quick yelp before turning on her heels and dashing towards her room with the other three men quick on her trail. Etsuji didn't lighten the pressure while he waited for Kuroumaru to return. Touta's head began to feel light from the lack of oxygen.

"Seriously," Touta heard him mutter. "I still can't believe that you're the runt he betrayed the family for. What a joke."

"I have everything," Kuroumaru said as she rushed back, still stuffing things into her overflowing bag. "Let him go. We can leave."

Etsuji obliged and released Touta, who immediately fell to the floor, gasping for air. Kuroumaru tried to go to him but was stopped by one of the nearby goons who roughly grabbed her by the shoulder and forced her to keep on moving towards the door. Touta glanced up as the blurry figures began to walk past him and there was no way that he was just going to let them take Kuroumaru. Touta lunged forward and tackled one of the men to the ground and slammed a fist squarely on his jaw.

"Touta, no!"

"That's it," The man holding on to Kuroumaru said as he pulled out his gun and pointed it at the boy.

Kuroumaru quickly sprang into action and diverted his hand away as the shot fired, missing Touta. She swung her elbow into his stomach, forcing him to involuntarily lean forward where his face was met with another elbow jab. She easily disarmed him and swung the butt of the gun into the face of the other man next to her who was trying to subdue her. She quickly pointed the gun up and emptied the rounds into the ceiling, taking it out of play.

The first man used that action against her and rammed her into the wall, trying to pin her down. Kuroumaru struggled against him momentarily before quickly headbutting him in the face, busting his nose.

"Dammit, you little bitch," he said as grabbed his face, giving Kuroumaru an opportunity to slip out of his grasp.

On the ground Touta got a few more good swings in before the more trained fighter got him into a hold and twisted him off him. Once the tables were turned he wasted no time jabbing Touta. The man got to his feet and was about to kick Touta in his sides until he was immobile. He was stopped when Kuroumaru grabbed him by his arm and twisted it around his back, knocking him off balance. She used his momentum against him and flipped him on his stomach to the ground. She then pulled on his arm until she heard a pop, followed by a scream of pain.

The last man standing grabbed Kuroumaru from behind and twisted her arms in a way that made it hard for her to maneuver. She made a stifled grunt of pain as she was violently pulled towards the door. Etsuji growled in annoyance as he stepped over.

"Get him to the car," Etsuji ordered as he pulled his comrade up from the ground and pushed him toward the exit as well.

"On it," he said as he went and helped pull Kuroumaru through the door.

Etsuji was about to get the other one off the floor but was stopped when Touta slammed into him from the side, throwing him off balanced. Touta swung at him with all of his might and knocked him to the ground.

"I'll give you one thing," Etsuji said with a bellowing laugh as he stood. "You're a persistent little fuck."

"Lay one finger on her again and you'll regret it."

"What do you honestly think you can do to me? We may not be able to go all out on the boss's kid sibling and he may have said not to kill you, for now. But he never specified the state we could leave you in. And I'm going to enjoy messing you up."

Touta quickly dodged as Etsuji lunged toward him. Touta tried to get another hit in but it just glanced off the muscular man. A few back and forth blows were shared between them and Etsuji was surprised how Touta was keeping up, pegging it on adrenaline. What he didn't know was that although Touta's only been in a few scuffles at school, mostly his friends, Eva had spent a lot of time making sure he could handle himself.

Touta managed to land a good punch on Etsuji's jaw, knocking him to the ground. He raised his fists, ready for more, as Etsuji grabbed his jaw and shot him a glare. He spat out a fair amount of blood.

"Touta," Kuroumaru shouted as she ran back in through the door in a panic. "Oh," she said as she stopped in her tracks, looking between Etsuji and Touta in surprise.

"Quick, let's get out of here," Touta said as he grabbed Kuroumaru's arm and pulled her back towards the door.

"Touta, I can't," she said, holding her ground.

"What? We don't have time for this. Let's go."

"I have to go with them. You'll be in danger if I stay."

"Well, were not staying. We're getting Eva and we're… Going somewhere else."

"It doesn't matter where we go! He found me here and he'll find me again."

"Eva will think of something. She's like a secret agent and has all these weird connections."

Etsuji pulled out a tooth and spit out more blood.

"What? There's no way that's true," Kuroumaru deadpanned.

"Or something, but now's not the time. I'm not letting you-"

"Touta," Kuroumaru said, surprising him by suddenly wrapping her arms around his shoulders. Touta slowly moved his arms around her as she held him. "I love you… And I'm sorry. I'm so sorry, but I have to protect you."

Touta wasn't sure what she did or when she did it, but before he knew what was happening he was on the ground and everything was fading to black. The last thing he could make out was the hazy outline of Kuroumaru kneeling over him, and feeling her warm lips press against his forehead. Soon there was nothing.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thank for everyone's patience. I put a lot of work into this chapters with many _many_ rewrites. I want to also give a huge thanks to SeinoNaito for all the ideas, inspiration, and words that helped getting this chapter to where it is. This was initially going to be much longer but has been separated into two parts, so hopefully it won't take me as long to produce the near finished second part.

Uq Summer

By. Amnesty

The journey back from Touta's small town back to her home in Tokyo was going to be a very long ride for Kuroumaru. It didn't help that she could feel the rage radiating off everyone sitting in the car with her. She supposed that it was a hit to their ego that two teenagers had given them, who have had extensive training, such a hard time. Not that she needed incentive, but she knew it would in her best interest to just sit quietly to avoid angering them further.

Kuroumaru leaned back into the leather seat where she was positioned between two of the men in the back seat. She thought the movement was subtle, but it seemed enough to for the men on either side of her to whip their heads toward her in alarm. Kuroumaru tried her best ignore them as she closed her eyes and attempted to calm herself. Adrenaline was still pumping through her veins so much it felt like her heart was about to burst. Just thinking about going home made her stomach churn and she couldn't stop her mind racing with thoughts about what that meant for her. Multiple scenarios played through her head about what her brother would do to her once she arrived home, none were good.

Even more so she was worried about Touta and hoped she hadn't hurt him when she knocked him out. That was the last thing she wanted, but she knew how persistent Touta was. He would have kept going until he got himself killed if she hadn't stopped him. She was just thankful they weren't sent to kill Touta when they came and got her. Not being able to think of a time where her brother didn't have purpose behind any of his actions she knew there was a reason he wanted him alive.

A few hours later, they were finally entering the city. Unsurprisingly, Tokyo was still awake and moving full force even at this time, late in the night. It was quite different from the quiet village she had become accustomed to these past few weeks. Kuroumaru noted that even in the quieter area where her family's estate lay was loud in comparison to the countryside. Kuroumaru looked out the window and saw the tall perimeter fence that surrounded her family's traditionally styled estate come into view. As they approached an automatic gate opened, allowing the car to pass through. The pathway down the driveway lead to a garage near the main house. Once parked, Etsuji turned from the passenger seat to give out his orders.

"I've already sent a message to the boss to let him know we're here. I'm going to his office to give a full debrief. I want you three to take Kuroumaru to his room."

The three men uttered their acknowledgement before car doors began to open and everyone began exiting. The man to Kuroumaru's right firmly pulled at her arm as he exited the car. Kuroumaru obediently followed behind him without a word as he led her into inside the house. At this time of night, it was very quiet inside the large foyer. She was surprised to see that there was still one person who was up and currently sitting in a large chair, reading a newspaper.

His name was Ryuichi and was one of the top senior members of the organization here. He was particularly important as he, like her, was actually in the Yatagarasu bloodline. Ryuichi was her late father's cousin. She remembered that he used nice to her when she was a child. Now he might as well be a stranger to her. They were about to walk past him but he casually waved for them to stop. Since he was so high up in the chain of command, her escorts had no choice but to comply.

He folded his paper and sat it on the end table before slowly standing in a way that made him seem older than he looked and walked over to them. It was most likely due to a lifetime of miscellaneous injuries that came with the job. Once he was close he leaned down and examined Kuroumaru's face where a bruise was beginning to form under her eye. He made a quick clicking sound with his tongue before looking at the men on either side of her.

"Now why'd you do that? You weren't supposed to hurt the kid."

"He fought back," the man holding onto Kuroumaru's arm tightly replied. "We had no choice."

"Really? That's unusual. Kuroumaru's usually pretty passive. By the looks of it you kids got the worse of it," he added with an amused chuckle.

"As much as we'd love to stay and chat with you sir," he said with a tight smile. "We have to get Kuroumaru to his room. The boss will be mad if he found out we were standing around, wasting time."

"Of course," Ryuichi said with a frown forming on his face. "Don't let me stop you then. You have a job to finish now, don't you?"

The three men gave a respectful bow before turning and continuing deeper into the house. After a short while, they eventually made it to a solitary hallway away from the main living quarters of the house. At the end of the hallway was a sturdy looking sliding door. The door stood out from the other doors in the home as it had two covered slits in it. One was eye level, for looking into the room and the other was at the bottom so that items could be passed back and forth without needing to open the door.

The man that was not holding on to Kuroumaru slid the door open while the other pushed Kuroumaru into the dark room. The door was quickly shut and she could hear the sound of the door being quickly locked behind her. From the other side of the door, she could hear the men's voices as they walked away.

"Finally, we're done. I hate dealing with that freaky kid."

"He really is a monster, isn't he? I hope the boss will just keep him where he belongs this time. We do just fine without him."

"I agree…"

Eventually they were too far away for Kuroumaru to hear clearly. Though, it's not as if they were saying anything new about her. She sighed softly as she turned on the light and took a look around her small room. Apparently at some point it was ransacked, it probably happened shortly after she ran away.

She saw that her bedding was pulled off and crumpled in the corner of the room and her futon mattress was flipped up against the wall. The contents of her bookshelf were pulled out and messily laid in a makeshift pile to the side. The drawers to her dresser also were wide open and her clothing scattered across the ground. Even her shampoo and soap was knocked on the floor where her shower was with the curtain torn off a few of the rings. She wasn't surprised they did this, but it was still annoying.

Kuroumaru didn't know when her brother would be down to see her. He sometimes liked to make her wait, knowing it gave her time to reflect on her actions after she had done something wrong. Deciding to distract herself while she waited she began the work of straightening her room piece by piece. One good thing about not having a lot of belongings is that it wouldn't take her long. When her brother did come down, even though she wasn't the one who had made the mess, she didn't want to risk it being something that fell on her.

Once finished she did a quick check around her room to make sure that everything was in order. As an afterthought, Kuroumaru glanced down and mentally cursed. Somehow, she just now realized that she was still wearing her girl clothes. Kuroumaru rushed to the door and pressed her ear against it. She sighed in relief, hearing nothing.

Quickly she pulled off her clothes and threw them in the hamper next to her shower. She then opened her dresser and pulled out one of her old outfits and quickly began to redress. She didn't want to waste time binding her chest as that took some time, so hopefully he wouldn't notice she was wearing bra still. She went to the mirror as she began to button up her shirt. Her hands paused as she noticed some bruising around her neck. Initially she thought she got it during her scuffle but something about it didn't look right.

A flash of Touta kissing on her neck earlier that night flashed through her mind and she felt her face instantly heat up. The memory made her happy and sad all at once. She wondered if all she would have now of her time with Touta were memories. She felt her eyes begin to water but quickly wiped them away. She didn't have time to cry as she could now hear footsteps coming towards her. After quickly grabbing a black tie Kuroumaru went to kneel on the middle of the floor, while tightening the tie around her neck. From the outside, she looked just as she was before going to live with Touta and Eva.

To Kuroumaru, it felt like the door opened painfully slowly. She kept her head low as the door slid open and someone entered and closed the door behind. She didn't need to look up to know who it was. From a young age, she was taught how to control her heartrate, something she was never really good at as she could feel her heart trying to beat out of her chest. Silence filled the room as she felt her brother's gaze on her.

"So, you have finally returned home I see," he said, at last breaking the dreadful silence.

"Y-yes."

"Look at me Kuroumaru," he demanded.

Kuroumaru slowly lifted her head and sat up as she was commanded. Her brother stood over her, wearing his traditional kimono. His long-unbound hair flowed over his shoulders. It was a lighter shade than her black, but held the same silky-smooth texture. To most, he was considered a very handsome man with his fine features and stern gaze. The head of the Yatagarasu, a man well respected, highly valued in their line of work, and someone to fear. But, to Kuroumaru he was just her older brother and she feared him for other reasons.

Unexpectedly, her brother leaned in and pulled her into a soft embrace. It wasn't the first time he's hugged her but they were so rare and far between it always felt foreign when he did so. It's not that she didn't like it. She always loved it when he would show her any kind of affection. Getting hugs from him was always comforting, a reminder of when they were younger and she was allowed to hug him openly and often. Although she ran away from home and despite everything he's done she couldn't help but miss him the entire time she was gone. Kuroumaru shyly brought her arms up and returned her brother's embrace.

"I thought you were dead. When no one reported in from your mission that's what I assumed. When the person I sent to recover your body told me you were nowhere to be found I was at a loss at first. I didn't know what to think. When I finally realized what you had done... It felt like you stabbed through me yourself."

"I'm sorry," Kuroumaru quickly said. "I'm so sorry Yoshiro."

"You're sorry," Yoshiro repeated back. He quickly brought his hand to Kuroumaru's small neck and began to squeeze. He forced her to look up to him as he continued. "Do you believe apologizing will undo anything you put me through these past weeks? You betrayed me, Kuroumaru. Your own flesh and blood. Not only that but you embarrassed me in front of our clan. How can I lead this house when I can't even control my own brother? Of course, you wouldn't have thought of that. You've always only thought of yourself."

Kuroumaru helplessly coughed as he tightened his grip.

"Did you think that you could run away from me and I wouldn't be able to find you," he asked as he finally let go of Kuroumaru, who began to gasp for breath.

"Get up," he ordered.

Kuroumaru shakily rose to her feet, keeping her head down as she silently stood, still trying to catch her breath. Yoshiro's lips turned into a tight frown as he turned away from her.

"I admit that it took me longer than I thought it would be to find you, even though you were sloppy at covering your tacks. I was easily able to see the withdrawal from the credit card you stole out of your dead comrade's pocket, and found all those phone calls you were making prior almost right away. Though, when I had the phone records pulled the calls you placed were being rerouted and bounced about. It was quite difficult to trace. At first, I found it odd that whoever you were speaking to had such protected phone system. When we finally cracked it, imagine my surprise to find you staying with Evangeline McDowell of all people."

"Please, leave them out of this! Don't hurt them," Kuroumaru quickly said, whipping her head toward him.

Yoshiro couldn't help but chuckle. "After all that time, you never even realized, did you? You really are stupid… Evangeline McDowell, The Dark Evangel, one of the most feared and deadly assassins to have ever lived. I know you've heard of her. Our old teacher used to scare us with the stories of her viciousness."

Kuroumaru's jaw dropped at the revelation. The Dark Evangel was famous in their world but had vanished many years ago. She only knew her by her code name. There was no way… Kuroumaru's mind went back to what Touta had said earlier about her being some kind of secret agent. Not quite the same thing but…

"And that boy… The world really is a small place," he finished as he went and banged on the door.

A couple of attendants who were waiting outside the door silently came in, keeping their heads low. One carried Kuroumaru's overstuffed bag while the other carrying some extra clothes and personal items that she couldn't fit inside during her rushed packing. They set them beside Yoshiro before quietly bowing and leaving them alone again.

"Looks like you've collected quite a bit while at that woman's house. Bring me that waste basket," he ordered as he pointed over to the bin tucked to the corner of the room.

Kuroumaru hesitated as she watched him began picking through her things. Yoshiro quickly noticed her hesitation and narrowed his eyes towards her. He had better not repeat himself, is what she knew he was thinking. Begrudgingly Kuroumaru turned and quickly retrieved her waste bin and brought it over, setting it beside him. Yoshiro pulled up the loose clothing that was scattered on the ground.

First was a couple of her tops. He began by tossing her white button up dress shirt she had beforehand to the side then moved to throwing away her newer tops one by one. Once he was done with those he continued with her jeans, shorts, and skirts; saving her old clothes and discarding everything Eva helped her pick out. Kuroumaru could only frown as she watched her brother go through her bag and throw everything away.

She knew what he was doing. He was making a visual point of undoing what she had become while away. He didn't approve of the changes she made and was making it clear that those changes would not be tolerated and were to immediately cease. When Kuroumaru saw her blue dress get mercilessly thrown into the 'out' pile a painful pang went through her chest. That was the dress Touta first said she was beautiful in and now it was being thrown away like it was nothing.

Yoshiro gathered up her bras and panties and pulled them out of her bag in one go. As he went to throw them away, a plastic bag that was mixed in with them fell to the floor. Kuroumaru glanced down and felt her stomach drop. She watched as her brother slowly picked up the baggie and turned it in his hand as he examined the contents. His anger filled eyes locked with hers. Kuroumaru's mouth opened as she tried to think of something to say, but was drawing a blank.

He reached his long arm to her and grabbed her by the back of her head. With a fistful of hair, he tightly held her still as he brought his face towards her. Kuroumaru's fear surmounted as her brother loomed over her.

"What is this? What were you two doing?"

"N-nothing! We didn't do anything. Eva g-gave that to me. She just wanted us to be protected if we did… do something. But we didn't!"

"Your perversion disgusts me," he spat. "Not only do I find you dressing as a girl, but you've been fornicating with another boy as well."

"But I'm not a boy," Kuroumaru shouted at her brother. He seemed a bit taken aback, not used to Kuroumaru talking back to him. "We didn't do anything. And e-even if I was a boy… what difference would it make? Touta loves me either way. But… I've never been a boy. When you started dressing me as a boy, I acted the part for you. My entire life I've tried to do everything to make you happy. I buried myself in tactical studies, practiced fighting styles until I could no longer move. Not for the Yatagarasu, but for you. I… killed all those people, for you. I lost myself in trying to please you, in trying to make you love me the way I've always loved you.

But that changed when I met Touta… It felt like he saw a part of me that I forgot existed and with him… I could be that person again. Touta and Eva were kind to me and they care about me, the real me… I love them," Kuroumaru finished as she wiped away the streaming tears on her cheeks.

"Who do you think you are," Yoshiro asked before slamming his hand across Kuroumaru's face. Although Kuroumaru saw it coming and mentally braced herself the blow still made her head spin. Yoshiro grabbed the cuff of Kuroumaru's shirt and pushed her down to the floor as he continued to beat Kuroumaru in rage. "You think you're special? That you deserve special treatment? I have done _everything_ for you since our parents died and you have been nothing but ungrateful. This is how you repay me? By being a treacherous little- " He paused to look down at Kuroumaru who was bleeding from her busted lip. Kuroumaru glanced back at him, showing little change in resolve. He let out a calming breath as watched her.

"I suppose senseless violence won't work on you." Yoshiro said as he snapped his fingers. The door opened and there was a man bowing down, waiting for orders. "Bring it here. My insolent little brother needs a discipline lesson."

"Yes, sir." said the man as he quickly entered the room carrying a few large concrete blocks and put them on the ground next to the siblings.

"It has been quite some time since we did this, Kuroumaru. You know I don't like to go this far just to teach you a lesson." Yoshiro said.

Kuroumaru began sitting up as she mentally prepared herself. She knew what was coming; it was one of her brother's favorite punishments when she got out of line, which really wasn't that often. She quickly counted the number of concrete blocks at her side; there were 5 in total.

"Last time, we stopped at 2. However, I don't think that will be enough for this offense." Yoshiro said as he picked up one of the concrete blocks.

Knowing it would be useless trying to resist, Kuroumaru got herself in seiza position. Yoshiro slowly put the concrete blocks on Kuroumaru's lap, one by one.

Several minutes later, Kuroumaru was clearly in pain from the weight of the blocks crushing her legs. Yoshiro was expecting, by now, Kuroumaru would have to changed back to the submissive self he was used to, at least a little. "Are you feeling like apologizing for the impudence you showed me before, my little brother?"

"Please, stop calling me that. I am your sister, not your brother." Kuroumaru said solemnly.

Yoshiro gave an enraged look as he was about to hit her again, but he stopped himself when he realized this wasn't going anywhere. He suddenly got an idea that could both get Kuroumaru back in line and entertain himself for a bit as well. "Still not cooperating, I see. Then how about we make this a little more interesting, Kuroumaru? Let's make a wager."

"You only like bets you know you will certainly win, brother." Kuroumaru responded as if refusing to take part.

"You're not wrong about that, I've never been a good loser. But, I doubt you will deny to play if I give you this condition." Yoshiro said as he placed his hand over Kuroumaru's shoulder and slowly closed to whisper to Kuroumaru's ear. "If you can stay standing up while carrying those concrete blocks without dropping a single one nor falling to your knees, I will release you."

Kuroumaru gave her brother a shocked look. "You mean!?"

"If you can do that task without fail, that would mean you have indeed become too troublesome for even me to control. It would be a waste of my time to keep trying to fight you on this. In that case, it would be better to simply throw you out of the house. Then you will get the freedom you desire so much. You could go wherever you want without having to worry about me ever again."

Kuroumaru couldn't believe her brother's words for a second. Was he really given her the chance to finally be free of her life under his control? It was unbelievable. Too good to be true, in fact. She knew there had to be an angle, but she would have to try, right?

"How long?"

"Until I deem you too far gone to save."

Kuroumaru didn't enjoy the vagueness of that answer, but what choice did she have?

"And if I win your bet, you will keep your promise. Right, brother?" Kuroumaru said with a touch of distrust.

"That really hurts me, Kuroumaru. Despite everything, I'm a man who keeps his word. Of course, it depends on the fact that you can win the bet. Perhaps this might be the perfect way to prove how far your resolve goes." Yoshiro said with a smug tone.

Kuroumaru didn't trust her brother. She knew that even if he said he would keep his word, he wasn't one to play fair. However, this was a chance she couldn't bring herself to refuse. Kuroumaru didn't hesitate as she transferred the concrete blocks from her lap into her hands and began slowly standing up.

"Then, I accept your challenge, brother."

The concrete blocks were awkward to hold and heavier than Kuroumaru expected. It didn't help that she was already exhausted. She almost fell over, but she quickly kept her balance.

"Very well, Kuroumaru. Now all you have to do is to stand there until I tell you to stop. You cannot drop any of the blocks or fall down no matter what I throw at you. If you can do that, you will be free." Yoshiro said as he got himself in a more comfortable sitting position.

A decent amount of time had passed and Kuroumaru was visibly struggling to don't fall over to the ground as her arms were trembling from the weight of the concrete blocks. Sweat was streaming down her face and her muscles burned, but she wasn't giving up. Yoshiro looked at Kuroumaru with a somewhat bored expression.

"I'm actually impressed. It has been over 20 minutes. However, even with your training this must be painful for you. Why do you keep doing this? "

"Even if you want me to keep this up until dawn, I will make you keep your promise," Kuroumaru said as she gave out a small smile. "I happened to spend a lot of my time away with someone very stubborn. If I give up now that I have this chance for the two of us, he will be mad at me."

Yoshiro looked at her disapprovingly. He understood that as long as she had that motivation, that hope, she wouldn't surrender to him. If that was the case, he would have to take additional measures.

"Bring me my bokken." Yoshiro ordered to those still waiting outside as he snapped his fingers. A man quickly entered and left Yoshiro's bokken to his side before quickly exiting the room again.

"I understand what you are thinking right now, Kuroumaru. I really do. You're thinking that even if I abandon you, you believe those two will take care of you," Yoshiro said as he slowly stood up with his bokken in hand. "However, do you really believe you will be able to live a life apart from here? This is your home, Kuroumaru. It's where you were raised and where you belong. No matter where you go, you can't leave behind your experiences or what you've done, can you?" Yoshiro asked as he began circling around Kuroumaru. "Kuroumaru, let me ask you. Who was the one who has covered all your needs since our parents died?" Yoshiro asked as he hit Kuroumaru on the side with his bokken, not too hard. Though he had just begun.

"It was you, brother." said Kuroumaru as she forcibly kept her balance.

"Who was the one who paid for tutors for your education?" Yoshiro gave another hit to the other side, much rougher this time.

"It was you, brother." Kuroumaru said, still managing to keep her balance.

"And who was the one who personally taught you everything you know about hand-to-hand combat and weapons? Which is the only reason why you're still alive after all your missions?" Yoshiro gave a hard hit to the back.

"It was you, brother," Kuroumaru answered through her gritted teeth. "But I never asked you to teach me any of that. I never wanted to be made into a killer!"

"You insolent garbage!" Yoshiro gave a much more powerful hit to the back, but somehow Kuroumaru was still standing up and Yoshiro grabbed her ponytail. "You say I made you into a killer? That everything is my fault? Do you think you're just some innocent little princess who was forced to kill by a monster? Don't make me laugh! You have brought all of this on yourself, Kuroumaru! You're the one who accepted this life. You chose to become a killer."

"No! You forced me into that life! A horrible life I never wanted and hated every single moment of it!" Kuroumaru said in her defense.

"But didn't you just say you did everything because you wanted to make me happy?" Yoshiro calmly said and Kuroumaru was suddenly taken aback. "You can't defend yourself now, you're such a hypocrite. If you hated killing so much, you could have resisted my orders for as long as you could, no matter what punishment would come. But you didn't. You didn't because you're a coward who was so scared of being in trouble that you chose to kill others to protect yourself. I saw your face. I know you can't deny that you were always happy when I sparingly told you you had done a job well. Now, can you?" Yoshiro asked.

Kuroumaru was stunned at facing those facts, but she wasn't giving in yet. "That was the old me. The me who didn't know what a normal life was and only had you to hope to love me. After knowing Touta and Eva, I could never…"

"Could never kill again? Is that what you want to say? That is ridiculous. They don't know you, Kuroumaru. They haven't seen the child who coldly massacred waves of men just to reach one person. In just your fifteen years, you have more blood on your hands than anyone else in our clan. Whatever motivation you used, there's no denying it. You're a killer, Kuroumaru. You'll always be a killer. There's nothing you can do to ever change that. How can you be sure in one moment you might slip back to your old ways and ruin everything for yourself and those people you care about so much? I am sure something like that has already happened in your time away. You can't just change who you are, or am I wrong?"

Kuroumaru's mind went back to the night when she and Touta were mugged. If that gun had been loaded she would have killed that man, right in front of Touta no less. Even without her brother's influence, she was still capable causing so much destruction. Kuroumaru closed her eyes tightly as she let it sink it. She's a monster, and always would be.

Yoshiro began smiling as he saw Kuroumaru's reaction, taking it as proof that he was right. He released Kuroumaru's hair, which was already down from having the ponytail pulled so hard. Yoshiro thought he had already won. However, Kuroumaru was still standing up. She had one last argument.

"Even then…," Kuroumaru began. "Even then, I believe Touta would still love me."

Yoshiro busted out laughing. "Really?! That's all you can think to say against me? Believing in the shallow feelings of "love" from some ignorant country boy! You're even more pathetic than I ever thought!"

"There's more to Touta than you think! He's kind, strong, brave and honest, more than anyone I know! He would never give up on me, no matter what stood on our way!" Kuroumaru said decisively.

"Well, if you believe in the feelings of your dear prince so much, why did you allow yourself to be brought back here? For what you say, he should had been ready to run off with you."

"He was... But I… I didn't want him to be in danger because of my family. He's strong, but not so much to take on an entire yakuza clan. All I would have done by staying with him would have been getting him killed."

"Is that so, Kuroumaru? Because I think there should have been something else you were afraid of. I think you know what that is."

"What are you talking about?"

"'I love you. You're everything to me. I would do anything for you. I don't care about your family or what society thinks about us, let's be happy together.'" Yoshiro said as if he was talking to himself instead of Kuroumaru.

"I'm not following," Kuroumaru said, confused.

"Sappy lines like that. That kid said all that, right? You're naïve, Kuroumaru. I know boys like him. They seem like they would give everything away for you. But that's all a lie. They just stay with you as long as it's convenient for them and being with someone in trouble just helps them feel good about themselves. When it comes down to it, they won't think twice before betraying you and tearing your heart out to save their own skin." Yoshiro said with a somewhat sad expression on his face.

Kuroumaru watched her brother. This attitude was unusual for his typically aloof and guarded personality. In a way, this has been the most venerable looking moment she has seen from him. Yoshiro's glazed eyes snapped back to Kuroumaru as he returned to his normal self.

"I assure you, Kuroumaru, that boy is no different. Sooner or later, he would have become fed up of a life with a filthy assassin like you. And unlike you, I'm sure he has plenty of other, better options. There's no way he would have stayed with you. Actually, I must say you did the smart thing for once. As soon as you let go of this last piece of resistance, you will have broken your ties with him before your relationship inevitably went down in flames. Now you can at least live with untainted sweet memories of your lost love."

Kuroumaru quietly stood in the room, still carrying the concrete blocks even though it was growing increasingly harder. Yet Yoshiro could still see that Kuroumaru hadn't given up yet and let out a slow sigh.

"Fine, you seem to really believe in those two."

Kuroumaru gave a shaky smile. Was it over? Did she win? Yoshiro sighed as he positioned himself directly in front of her.

"One last thing. Then this will all be over. I want to enlighten you with something Kuroumaru, since you seem so oblivious. This will cement that you living a happy life with that boy would have been impossible."

"What do you mean, brother?" Kuroumaru asked.

"It's about your precious boyfriend's past. I'm surprised he didn't tell you anything since you two trust each other so very much. Or perhaps he doesn't remember it. I had heard that he suffered massive brain trauma after the accident."

"Wait, how do you know about that?"

"Hm, you really don't know anything, do you? Didn't you think it was odd that the son of a famous minister would be living so far out in the country?"

Kuroumaru admitted she did find it odd as well, but never put too much thought into it. And why was her brother suddenly bringing up Touta's parents? What did they have to do with anything?

"Allow me to refresh your memory. It was a mission a little over six years ago, it was one of your first actually. We left to assassinate a family returning to Tokyo from vacation.

Kuroumaru thought back. There was only one mission that fit that description. Back when she still needed Yoshiro to go along to guide her. It was also the only time she had actively disobeyed her brother's commands while out on a mission.

In the darkness of night, she remembered approaching the mutilated car wrapped around a tree. As they drew close, she nervously looked into the window. The darkness succeeded in veiling their faces, keeping safe the identities she didn't want to know.

That memory came and went in a flash. Her heart was pounding and she began to feel sick. She had a feeling where this was going, but she never wished for anything more than to be wrong.

"I've always respected your wish in not telling you the personal details about your targets, but here's a few details you need to know given the circumstances. Your main target was Konoka Konoe, a powerful political figure that was causing trouble for our family. Along with her was her partner, Setsuna Sakurazaki, and her son, Touta Konoe."

Kuroumaru let out a shaky gasp as her already rocky world began crashing around her. Her brother hadn't hit her with his bokken in a while, but it felt as if he just hit her in the gut, full force. She finally fell down on her knees, the concrete blocks crashing to the ground. She brought a trembling hand to her chest as she absorbed her brother's words. She inhaled sharply as she felt Yoshiro gently massage her shoulder.

"I suppose this means I win? But you see now, don't you? Eventually, he would have find out and would leave you. In a way, I'm saving you from that future heartache."

Yoshiro looked down at Kuroumaru a moment before patting Kuroumaru on the head. "I know you still have feelings for those two, but don't forget; it's just you and me. You may have broken my trust, but we can recover from this Kuroumaru. We've been through worse, but if you continue down this reckless path… This… rebellion against me, I will throw every resource I have until their heads are at my feet."

With that being said, Yoshiro turned at went out the door. The servants quickly came in and collected the contraband items before scurrying out as quickly as they came in. The door was quickly locked and once again Kuroumaru was left alone. It didn't take long before she began to hyperventilate as tears began to stream from her eyes. She sat there, reliving that horrible night over and over. Every fiber of her body screaming out.

Hours had passed and eventually Kuroumaru willed herself over to a small empty space on the floor. She balled up a fist and bashed on the outer edge of one of the boards, causing the other side to pop loose. She then pulled the board out to reveal her hidden stash. Thankfully, it was well hidden and wasn't discovered when they went through her things.

She reached in and fished out the small stuffed ermine that Touta won for her the first night they had met. She hugged it tightly to her chest then reached back in, taking out the strip of photo booth pictures. With swollen red eyes, she looked at her and Touta together. Touta looked ecstatic and was making fun poses with every shot. It was a stark difference to herself who just sat there stiffly throughout, forcing a smile. After pressing her lips against the picture, she laid down on the cold floor and began to weep again.

It was her fault. Because of her, Touta's parents are dead. Adding insult to injury, she also took away his memories of them. Yoshiro was right. Even though Touta has shown immense sensitivity and forgiveness towards her… His parents are dead because of her. There was no possible way past that. Their relationship was over before it even begun, she just didn't know it.

The first morning of being home came and Kuroumaru opened her groggy eyes as she heard her breakfast being pressed through the slot in her door. She ignored it as she rolled over in her futon and closed her eyes again. Food was the last thing she wanted right now.

She wondered if this was going to be her life now. Always locked away in her room and only taken out when someone needed to be killed. Sure, it wouldn't be all that different than what it was before, but she had tasted a new life and she didn't think she could go back. But after Yoshiro had made it clear that if she didn't stay in line, Touta would be the one that paid the price for it. She wouldn't let that happened.

Though Touta deserved someone better than her, she would do anything to protect him.

Apparently, she had lost track of time as soon she heard a knock on her door as yet another tray of food was passed to her. Was it lunch already? She hadn't been watching the clock and it's hard to judge time without a window. She stayed where she was, but soon heard a louder knock at the door. The maid was waiting for her to push her breakfast tray through the door slot. Kuroumaru played with the idea of ignoring her until she gave up and let her be. After more thought, she decided that she was already on thin ice as it was and didn't want word getting up to her brother that she was being insubordinate. Kuroumaru sighed and got up from her bed and went to the door and after moving her lunch to the side she pushed her uneaten breakfast through the slot.

She wondered how long she would be locked in this room as she crawled back into bed. The last time she was in any major trouble it was only a few days. Not the longest she was kept in, but even those few days were maddening. From a young age Kuroumaru learned to embrace solitude, but she preferred being alone around everyone else while they shied away, whispering cruel things about her than tucked away down here. Even though her brother encouraged her to stay in her room, aside from her tutoring or training, it was rare for him to lock her in like this.

Kuroumaru stared blankly at the bare wall across from her as she planned out her day. She would probably stay like this for a couple of hours, trying not to think about anything. That was one method she had used more than a few times growing up. After that she thought she might reread one of her books. That usually cheered her up. While reading, she would always put herself in the main character's shoes and pretend that she was the one having the adventure. Though she wasn't sure if she was up for that right now. Right now, she really didn't feel like doing anything. The hours came and went as she laid motionless in her bed. The only change was to pass back the uneaten lunch and accept the dinner she wasn't going to eat.

Suicide was always an option. She would be lying if the thought hadn't crossed her mind more than a few times in the past. It would be easy to take one of her ties and hang herself. That was the way she had decided would be easiest. Either that or on a mission just allow herself to be killed. With the second option, she didn't have much control as who knew when she would build back enough trust for her brother to send her out again.

She thought how she was just a waste of a life anyway. The only thing she could do consistently was cause misery for others. Especially for Touta. The world would be better without her. Plus, if she did it now, then she wouldn't have to kill anyone else again as well as her brother not being able to hold Touta and Eva as leverage over her. If she killed herself, she was certain that Yoshiro would let them be. He wouldn't waste man power and risk their lives for something that had no end result.

This was the best option she concluded.

Kuroumaru slid off her bed and went over small empty space on the floor. She opened up her hidden stash, where she kept her most valuable mementos. She liked to remind herself of the very few nice moments of her life at the darkest times. Now that she was going to put an end to everything, she wanted to remember she did have some happy moments too.

First, she pulled out the ermine doll and the strip of photo booth pictures. She remembered clearly the night Touta and her first met and slowly reminisced all the time they spent living together. It all looked like just a dream now, she could hardly believe any of that was true anymore.

When she was younger used to dream that she would find someone to share love with, but had given up on it the older she became. Now that it has happened, no matter what happened to her she would make sure Touta is kept safe. Her reminiscent smile faded into a frown as she thought of her plan to kill herself.

She would be lying if she hadn't had hoped that she could live happily with Touta and Eva, but it was naive for her to ever think it was really a possibility. People like her didn't deserve to find happiness. She was just thankful for the time she was able to have with them. She was worried about Touta but he's young, handsome, and has a good personality. She was certain that he would have no problem finding someone new and live a long happy life with them. Though, it really hurt thinking about that.

She put the ermine and the photos aside as she took out her other mementos. These were all much older. The ones that reminded her of her family from when she was young. The only reminders of the happy childhood she once had before her parents died, even if they grew more faint as time went on. She had to sneak them from her old room to here, but it was worth it to keep them all close. They had gotten her though some rough periods.

First was a picture of her as a very young child with her parents and a younger Yoshiro. It was the last family portrait before her parents died. She always noticed that although everyone was smiling in the photo, no one looked particularly happy. It was a noticeable difference to the photo of Touta and his moms that sat in his living room. Thinking back, she remembered a lot of fighting between her family towards the end. She had hoped everyone would make up but in the end, no one had the chance.

Kuroumaru quickly put the photo to the side. She often wondered what her parents would have thought of how she turned out. Her family has been Yakuza for many generations so she supposed they would be fine, possibly proud of how she was before. She never had the chance to get to know her parents, but according to Yoshiro, they would probably be disappointed in her for misaligning herself from the path that was given to her.

She ran her hand gently over the next item. It was hard to preserve and was slowly crumbling away, much to her dismay. Out of all of her items this was the most special to her being something she made with her mother. It was a tiny floral crown, too small for her now. She could picture her and her mother sitting outside in the garden as her mother instructed on how to twist the stems and interlock them together. Her father always commented on how pretty she was when she wore it…

Lastly was a little colored drawing she made with her brother when she was little. She smiled looking at it. It was her and Yoshiro, both of their smiling heads and hands were too big for their oval bodies. Their hair just came off to the sides in a ridiculous and unnatural way. The flowers she had drawn next to them were stretching higher than she was tall. Basically, it was an awful drawing. But she always had fun doing things like this with Yoshiro. He was always a great artist, though only a couple of people ever actually got to see any of his artwork. The only reason she knew about it was because she had a habit of barging into his room without permission. The time spent sprawled out on his floor while she colored and he drew or painted were precious moments to her. That's how she always preferred to remember him.

Kuroumaru never really understood what made him change so drastically from the kind brother of her memories to the cold man he had become. It couldn't have been easy trying to cope with the loss of their parents, taking charge of the family, and taking charge of her care. Although not happy with how her life turned out, she knew that he didn't have it easy as well.

Kuroumaru turned the paper and saw written down her brother's name alongside another. Her smile quickly faded as she looked over the name. It always reminded her that she was no longer who she once was. The little girl who made flower crowns and drew happy pictures died a long time ago. However, she couldn't help to wonder what Touta would have taught about it if had the chance tell him. She guessed that it was just another regret she would die with.

This was enough reminiscing Kuroumaru decided as she arranged the items carefully before her. It was time for her to put her plan to action. She went to her dresser and took one of her black neckties in her hand. She tightened one end to the drawer enough where she knew it would hold her weight. Once it was secured she took a few steeling breathes and looped the noose around her neck. She felt her resolve began to waiver, but she wouldn't stop.

Her head whipped towards the door, hearing footsteps draw closer. No one should be coming down at this time. There was no meal to be given and the maids didn't clean at this hour. It could only be her brother she thought in a panic. If she got caught before she could go through with it... She didn't want to think about what he would do. She quickly took off her noosed tie and shoved it in the top drawer. Quickly she went to her spot on the floor where she always waited for her brother when he came to visit. Showing proper respect Kuroumaru knelt on the ground, keeping her head to the ground. She listened to the lock unclasp and the door slid open. What surprised her was how quickly the footsteps rushed to her and even more so when she felt familiar, yet unexpected arms wrap around her.

"I finally found you," Touta said as he buried his head into the crook of her neck, squeezing her tightly.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: I've been struggling writing lately. Nothing I write I feel is good enough, but hopefully you will still find this chapter enjoyable. I'll save a few anecdotes for the end that would otherwise have spoilers if I put them here. Also, a huge shout out to SeinoNaito who has been a huge help with my writer's block with ideas and conversation. Also, consistent encouragement for me to keep going! Thank you to everyone who has reviewed. I enjoy the feedback㈴2 Please point out any errors as I am very tired.

UQ Summer

By. Amnesty

 **The Night Before**

The steady beeping sound of the pulse monitor slowly pulled Touta awake. He was groggy and fully opening his eyes was a difficult task. He felt if he gave way just a bit he would fall back asleep in an instant. He forced his eyes to stay open as he began to shift in the bed, trying to get into a sitting position.

"Easy there kid," he heard a female's voice come beside him. "How are you feeling?"

His eyes were still blurry and couldn't quite make out the person looking at him at first. His confusion shifted to the men breaking into his house and having to fight them so they wouldn't take Kuroumaru. A surge of adrenaline pumped through him as he reached for the figure beside him and clasped his hand around her wrist.

"Kuroumaru!"

As his senses returned to him he realized that the woman next to him was Eva, who was looking at him with a mixture of concern and dulled surprise. Touta gulped, trying to push down the anxiousness he felt rapidly growing in the pit of his stomach.

"Sorry I'm not who you expected," Eva said as she pulled her hand away.

She had her laptop out and appeared to have been deep into some sort of work, as she normally was. Touta tried to think of how to respond to her question. His head was killing him and it was hard to think straight. Before he could manage a response, Eva closed her laptop and set it on the table before standing up. Gaining his bearings, Touta took the moment to glance around the room. At some point, he must have been taken to the hospital. He subconsciously pulled the fabric of the blue hospital gown as he felt Eva place a hand over his forehead.

"Where is she," Touta questioned.

"Probably back in Tokyo by now," she responded with a sigh as she lowered her hand. Touta's eyes slid down to his lap. He looked more disappointed than surprised. "Some poor pizza boy found you passed out and called an ambulance. Kuroumaru was already long gone by that point. You must have had decent blow to the head. The doctor says you have a mild concussion, but you'll live."

"It was probably when that stupid gorilla that slammed my head against the wall," Touta deduced as he began to pull the blanket off of him and threw his legs over the side.

"And what do you think you're doing," Eva asked sternly.

"Where else? We need to go get Kuroumaru back."

"I don't think so. You're not going anywhere. Did you not hear me? You have a concussion. You need to rest. God knows you don't need any more brain damage."

"So, we just abandon her then? I can't do that!"

"That's not what I said, but you can't just rush into things halfcocked, like you're prone to do. You're in no condition to go play knight in shining armor. You'd just get yourself _and_ her killed."

"So, what's the plan then," Touta asked in frustration. They were just wasting time just sitting here.

"The plan is for you to stay put where it's safe. Let me handle this."

"I'm not a child anymore Eva. I don't need you to protect me."

"Well, that's obviously not true or you wouldn't be laying in a hospital bed. Now would you? I knew I shouldn't have left you two alone. They were just watching and waiting for me to leave. I've grown careless."

"You know, we actually handled ourselves pretty well," Touta said defensively. "We did great, actually. We could have gotten away, but…" he briefly recalled how Kuroumaru unexpectedly knocked him out in the end. He looked at his lap with a downcast expression. "She thinks she's protecting me by going back. But that's stupid- I have to show her that somehow. And how can you protect someone you love by leaving them knocked out in the ground anyway? I just don't get her sometimes."

"She thinks that if she stays away her family won't have a reason to come after you. As if things are ever that simple."

"That's right, and she's crazy if she thinks I'll let it all end like this. I'm going after her right now."

Touta went to stand but Eva quickly grabbed him by the shoulder and effortless pushed him back to the bed again.

Eva slowly sighed. "My goodness, you two youngsters are, without a doubt, the biggest idiots I've ever dealt with. And I've met more than my fair share of them."

"Hey!"

"Touta, listen, I'm not saying what she did was right. But she went with them for your sake to 'protect you'. If you go after her, right now, and end up hurt or even worse, you would only convince her that she was right. Touta, trust me, I know how you feel, but- "

"No, you don't know how I feel!" Touta said forcibly enough to make Eva seem a bit taken aback. He was growing more visibly upset, just not because of Eva. "I promised Kuroumaru she would never go back. I wanted to protect her, but I already failed. I let Kuroumaru get taken away. If I don't do something now... The night when she first told me she loved me it was after I made that promise. I have to get her back." Touta said as he once again tried to get up from the bed, but was stopped once again by Eva.

"I do understand how you feel now, Touta. You care very deeply about her and feeling you failed her is killing you inside. But don't let it be the reason to make bad decisions."

"Why don't you think I can do it?"

"Because you're just a boy. What do you honestly think you can do against an entire house of yakuza? Do you really think you stand a chance against a large number of highly trained and armed men? You might think you got lucky there, but just a few of those men left you like this."

"I'll figure something out."

"See?! That's precisely the short sighted, brainless attitude of why I can't let you go! You will stay here and let me handle this!"

"No! Even if I don't stand a chance against those bastards, I have to get to Kuroumaru. She needs me."

"Even if you do find her, what would you do then? Hold her while she cries on your shoulder and tell her everything will be alright until she magically sees how she was wrong and you were right?" Eva asked rhetorically as Touta looked at her like she had figured out what he was thinking to do. "That might have worked for you until now Touta, but it will only take you so far. I said it before that girl is trouble and I meant it."

"I don't get what you're trying to say, Eva. Kuroumaru's great. Once we get her family out of the way everything will be just fine. I tried to tell her you can do something about it, but she didn't listen. After she's home and her family is dealt with everything can just go back to how it was."

Eva sighed again as she slowly lifted her hands to put pressure on her temple. This kid was giving her a headache. "That's a gross oversimplification of the problem. You've always been a people pleaser. It's one of your worst qualities. Because of that you only focus on people's good qualities and ignore what you don't like, especially with people you like. You're completely blinded when it comes to that girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Being raised in that environment. Doing the things that she's done isn't something you just move on from. You can't erase they things you've seen and done. You ignorantly saying that shows that you don't really know her at all."

"I do too know Kuroumaru," Touta defended. "She's smart and sweet. She likes reading and math. She likes strawberries and hates horror movies. I truly love Kuroumaru."

"That just isn't enough."

"It isn't? Why not?"

"Saying you love her is all well and good Touta, but you still have a lot of growing up to do. You can't coast through life on just strong feelings. Serious relationships don't work like that, Touta. Through your eyes she might seem like the perfect girl, but your fooling yourself if you think that's true." Eva's eyes drooped down as she continued, seemingly lost in thought for a moment. "She's killed too many people. Even if she was pressured there's no forgiveness for that."

"E-eva!"

"I know you want to help her, I do too. To do that you have to accept her."

"I do accept her."

"All of her. Good and bad. She can't undo what she's done and what has been done to her. It will _always_ be a part of her. She has a good heart though. So, if you really want to help her when we get her back, and we will, she needs your support. Not for you to coddle her. Do you know why she went back home, even with an opening to escape?"

"Why?"

"Because Kuroumaru is only living day to day. She's surviving the best way she can. In that lifestyle you know that there is no real future for you. Unlike you, who practically lives in a fairyland with picturesque life goals. Kuroumaru doesn't have that luxury. All she's concerned about is what will keep her alive, and more importantly- you alive for another day. You need to help her learn to look towards the future. She can't do anything about the past, but she can use her life and make something good out of it. It helps…"

"You really sound like you know what you're talking about…."

Eva sighed and sat back into the guest chair. "I can relate. I haven't always been the upstanding school teacher, you know?"

Touta scoffed at the idea of being an upstanding _anything_. She drank too much for that. The jovial thought faded seeing Eva's expression growing dark.

"Like you and Kuroumaru I was orphaned far too young. I did what I had to do to survive. I've done horrible, unspeakable things in my life that I wish I could take back. I've killed too many to even begin to count."

"Wait… Were you too-"Touta asked nervously.

"An assassin? Yes. One of the best. And everyday was the day I thought I was going to finally die. Eventually that path led me to cross paths with Nagi Springfield. He… was like nothing I've ever seen before. He completely took me by surprise and defeated me almost comically easily. I felt like a fool and a child, but I was also intrigued by him," Eva added with a blush. "And against my better judgement I kept trying to go after him, but he beat me at every turn.

After so many failed attempts we formed an odd kind of friendship. He then took me to Mahora. I don't know why I stayed at that stupid school, but he talked me into it. It was there that I met Negi. He was just a kid and super green. I thought he was pathetic, especially compared to his father. But, he always had a lot of determination and worked hard to become one of the strongest men I've ever known. He had a way of pulling people together and bringing out their best. In the end… he began to intrigue me as well. Negi was really the one who pulled me out of the darkness I was living in. Because of him I was able to start to opening up to others, at least a bit."

"I'm sorry Eva… I had no idea."

"I don't need or want your pity kid. But that's not all. Negi wanted to make the world a better place. To do so he formed an organization called Ala Alba. We were all apart of it, including your mothers. I've stepped back, but the organization is still active. We will get Kuroumaru out of there and make sure those yakuza are put in their place."

A wave of relief rushed over Touta. He knew he could count on Eva.

"That's great! Are they on their way now? When will Kuroumaru be back? Today? Tomorrow?"

"Calm down, these things take time to organize. It's going to be a few days before we even get started."

"But that's way too long. We have to get her out of there!"

"I understand, but she's not in danger of being killed. They won't kill her, she's valuable to them. It's better to go in smart than go in dangerously unprepared."

"But!"

A knock on the door pulled them from their conversation. They both turned to the door as an older doctor came through the door.

"Ah, so you are awake," he said as he let himself in. "How are you feeling," he asked as he made his way over and quickly shined a small light in his eyes.

Touta pulled away in annoyance. He was not in the mood.

"Fine. Just a headache."

"That's to be expected. You should be fine, but we're going to keep you overnight for observation."

"Sorry, we can't stay here I have-"

"Touta hush. You heard him, you're staying here tonight."

"Don't worry Touta, we'll take good care of you," the doctor said with a kind smile. "Ms. McDowell, if you would follow me we just need to get a few more documents signed."

"Yes," Eva said as she turned to Touta. "I know you're worried, but everything will be fine. Just trust me, okay?"

"Sure, fine," Touta said as he starred pointedly in the opposite direction.

Touta let out a huff of frustration as he heard Eva head outside with the doctor. He really did understand why she wanted to protect him, but this involved Kuroumaru's safety. That meant that he was involved. He looked over to Eva's chair and saw her purse sitting on the table. He bit his lip as his mind went over the possibilities. A part of him knew that Eva was trying, but her plan would take too long and he couldn't just leave Kuroumaru there alone. Making a decision he swung his feet over the side of the bed and grabbed Eva's purse and phished out her car keys. Wasting no time, he quickly pulled off the monitoring devices that were attached to him, causing the machine to give off an alarm. He dashed to the window and quickly climbed out. Thankfully the hospital was more like a glorified clinic and there was only the one floor so it was easy for him. He ran for the parking lot and quickly found Eva's car. He muttered apologizes to Eva in quick succession as he got in the car, started the engine, and drove away.

He hated doing this and knew Eva would be beyond angry with him. The logical side of him believed Eva would hold to her word and would come through with getting Kuroumaru, but he couldn't describe it. He felt that he needed to get to Kuroumaru as quickly as possible and he couldn't just wait around like Eva was suggesting. He just hoped that if he survived this she would forgive him. Driving down the dimly lit streets he saw his backpack sitting in the passenger's side. With one hand on the steering wheel he reached over to check to see what was inside. He felt the spare clothes Eva must have packed him stuffed inside. He was thankful to her as that meant he didn't have to risk going home to change. After he was out of town he could just pull off the road and quickly change. He let out a sigh of relief as he drove towards the highway.

The drive to Tokyo would take a few hours and the further he drove the guiltier he began to feel about leaving Eva that way. He couldn't believe that she was an assassin too. He knew the world was small, but what where the chances? He supposed that her being a secret agent like he always believed was also unlikely but he never would have thought… His mind drifted back to Kuroumaru. He wondered how she was doing and hoped she was okay. The conversation with Eva played over and over in his head. She said he wasn't helping her and was just pretending it was all okay. He hated to admit that she was right about that. When he thinks about Kuroumaru he goes straight to her soft, shy smile, and how her hand fits so seamlessly into his. Thinking about she did always seem so sad. Whenever she seemed extra unsettled or upset he quickly swooped in and reassure that everything would turn out okay until she would smile back at him and nod in agreement. It felt good at the time, but he began to question if she was more just doing that for his sake. He wondered what he would say to Kuroumaru when he got there… How would he get there?

This was the 'rushing in halfcocked' that Eva was telling him about. He had no clue what he was going to do once he got to Tokyo. Kuroumaru never did tell him her address… Though she said she lived near a park. Yoyogi ,he believed she said. That was a good enough place to start he suppose, but wasn't a whole lot to go off of. He cursed his shortsightedness, but he was in too deep to stop now. His head was killing him too. It wasn't going away and seemed to just be getting worse. He fumbled with the center console and pulled out the aspirins Eva kept for emergencies. He popped a couple in his mouth, forcing himself to swallow without water. The sun was rising and as he drew closer to Tokyo more and more people began to join him on the road. He would be lying if he said that it wasn't making him nervous. He wasn't used to being surrounded by so many other cars on the road.

Driving deeper into Tokyo he quickly realized he had no clue where he was going. He'd only been to the city a couple of times, and never by himself. At this point he really wished he had his phone so he could use GPS. He was honestly proud that he was able to get this far on his own. He sighed in relief as he spotted a police box with an officer inside. He heard that they had these in the city for was thankful to find one. He pulled over to the side of the road next to the police box and rolled down his window.

"Excuse me," Touta called over from his car. The officer looked up him and gave a friendly smile. "Could you tell me how to get to Yoyogi park please?"

"Of course," he replied as he pulled out a map from his station and opened it for the boy to see. "You're here. And you'll want to turn around and go straight of three blocks and make a left. Just follow that road and it will take you to where you want to go."

"Thank you so much," Touta said, showing his relief on his face. He was thankful he wasn't too far off.

"My pleasure," the officer said, giving the map to Touta. "Heh, how old are you? You look a little young to be driving around the city alone."

"I'm… old enough."

"Let me see your driver's license."

"Ah! You see… I accidently left it at home. I had to leave in a hurry."

"You had to leave in a hurry to go to a park?"

"Um… yes?"

The officer sighed. "What's your parent's phone number. I'm going to give them a call."

"T-that's not necessary…"

"Turn off the car and step out of the vehicle," the officer demanded.

Touta began to panic as he tried to think of anything to get the officer off his back. If he called Eva now it would ruin his chances of getting to Kuroumaru. His hands tightened around the steering wheel as he glanced forward at the road and back to the officer as he pulled at his radio on his uniform. Instead of complying, Touta let off the brake and quickly pressed on the gas. The card sped off down the road. He glanced into his rearview mirror at the officer who was yelling for him to stop. He could feel his adrenaline pumping through him as he maneuvered through the traffic. That did not go well. Eva was going to kill him when she finds out he ran from a cop, but to be honest she was going to kill him for a number of things he did today, so what was one more thing?

He followed the officer's directions and finally made it to the park that was near Kuroumaru's house. He was so close and could feel his heart beating faster. Touta parked the car and tried to quickly get as far away from it as he could. He was certain that that officer had reported him and didn't want to be caught now. The park was larger than he expected and there was a lot of people walking along the paved path lined with large trees and picturesque pond. If it was any other day he would love this, but sightseeing wasn't what he was here for.

"Okay, now what did she say," Touta wondered out loud as he walked along the side walk. She lived near the park. But how near? Across the street? A few blocks? He couldn't remember. It had to be a large house though… He spotted a young mother and her son, around five or six, walking in his direction.

"Excuse me," Touta asked a woman. "Do you live around here?"

The young boy quickly answered for them," Yes, we live right over there," he said, pointed across the street.

"Sush, don't tell strangers where we live," the mother chided. "We do, how can I help you?"

"Don't worry," Touta said with a small chuckle. "I'm just looking for the house where my girlfriend lives. I left my phone at home so I can't call her for directions," he said. He was only partially lying.

"What's her name?"

"Tokisaka Kuroumaru."

"No, sorry. I don't know that name."

"That's okay. She doesn't get out much. But she lives in a big house with a bunch of scary looking men in it."

"S-cary men?"

"I know," the young boy shouted in excitement. "A bunch of scary guys always come from that way."

"They do," Touta asked, showing his excitement. The mother began to look a bit nervous and slightly pulled her son closer.

"Thanks kid," Touta said with a toothy grin, patting the boy on his head as he passed.

He ran off in the direction the boy pointed. He still wasn't sure where he was going but at least he had a direction now. He looked at each house as he passed and all looked to be normal. Nice, big houses, but still normal. What would a yakuza house even look like, he wondered. A short way later he finally found a place that stood out and answered his question. A large fence circled around the property and looked like it took up the entire block. It was a large traditional Japanese style estate. Something out of the movies. Walking along the sidewalk where a few men who were watching the surroundings. They were all dressed in black suits and he could see the tattoos that were poking out from underneath their collared shirts. His hart began to beat faster with anticipation.

This was it.

He slowly approached the estate, trying to look as inconspicuous as he could manage. Though, he felt like he already had a search light straight on him the second he approached. He caught sight of the main entrance and of course more men were hanging outside the gate. He inconspicuously circled around to the corner and looked around. There didn't seem to currently be anyone around don this side, but he would need to act fast. He quickly ran up to the fence as fast as he could and was able to run up the edge a couple of feet so he could grab onto the top of the fence that was otherwise out of his reach. He easily pulled himself up and glanced over the fence. It looked to lead into a large and manicured garden. Better yet, no one seemed to be out there. He pulled himself over and tried to stick to cover as he made his way over to the house. Now that he was in he was just going to have to avoid everyone until he found Kuroumaru, talked her into leaving with him, and then sneak out again. Easy peasy….

"Hey kid," called a nearby voice.

Panic washed over Touta as he quickly turned to the voice. He looked over to a couple of young men who couldn't be a couple more years older then him. They looked like a couple of punks in a suite that was too large for them. They both walked closer until they were next to Touta.

"What are you doing sneaking around out here?"

"Uh… I'm… A new recruit. Yeah, this is my first day and I was just getting a feel for the layout."

"A new recruit," The man drawled out as he looked Touta up and down. Eventually a cocky smile spread across his face. "Ah finally, I'm getting sick and tired of being at the bottom of the totem poll. I've been waiting for this day."

"R-right," Touta said nervously. "Anyway, I need to go and-"

"Where you going so fast," the other said with a frightening smirk, sidestepping in front of Touta. "You need to listen to your older brothers now."

"Well," Touta whined. "I'm just kinda in a hurry."

"Too bad, you have to do what we say. You don't want to be showing disrespect on your first day, right?"

"R-right…."

"That's right. God, it feels good to do the bossing around for once."

'I feel like the new kid on the playground,' Touta thought as he followed the two boys inside the house.

The house was simply decorated, but everything was top quality. This was by far the nicest building he had ever stepped into. After a few twists and turns the two boys lead Touta to a room. The room was obviously a large storage closet of some kind with a couple rows of shelves with heavy-duty crates. The two boys pulled out a couple of beers that were apparently stashed in the room.

"We need you to pull out all the GN-1 through GN-4 crates out and place them neatly in the hallway," he said as he slid down the floor and popped open the beer.

"Aren't you guys going to help," Touta asked.

"We're supervising," The other said with that same wicked grin.

Touta frowned as he looked at the rows of boxes. This was the last thing he was wanting to do, but now that he was here it would be bad if he stormed off. The sooner he was done the sooner he could get back to looking for Kuroumaru. He sighed and began pulling down the heavy crates. This was definitely a two-person job, but he knew bringing it up with his new 'supervisors' would be a bad idea. It took a while, but his determination got him through as he set the last box down in the hallway. He reentered the storage room and ran a hand across his sweaty face.

"Not bad kid. You show some real promise."

"Thanks, now if you'll ex-"

"Eh, you kids are already done," an older man said, entering the room.

"Yes sir," the teenagers said as they both scrambled to stand in attention, showing respect to their elder. Touta followed suite, trying to fit in with the others.

"I would have thought you two would be up here slacking off," he added with a smile before turning his gaze towards Touta. "Who's this?"

"He's cool Ryuichi. He's new to the family. We've been showing him the ropes today."

"That's strange. I haven't heard of any new recruits…."

Touta stomach churned as he began to panic under the suspicious gaze of the older man. He tried to think of a quick exit plan, but there was no windows and the exit was blocked. It would be bad if this was where he was found out.

"It's fine," one of the boys said, patting Touta on the shoulder. "He's one of us now."

The older man looked Touta up and down for a few seconds before slowly turning away. "I see. Well, regardless, this room is a mess. Grab some brooms and clean this place up."

"Yes sir," they all said as Ryoichi left.

Touta let out a sigh of relief and couldn't believe that his non-plan was actually working. Now that he's gained their trust maybe he could get them to tell him where Kuroumaru was. Then he would go grab her, get her to leave with him. Lastly, let Eva take care of Kuroumaru's yakuza family. Easy peasy.

"You heard him newbie," the boy said grabbing a broom from the corner. "Get sweeping."

"Yes sir," Touta said as he took the broom and got to work.

They settle back down and grabbed a couple of more beers to drink while they slacked off. Touta determined that it was now or never.

"I haven't met the boss yet. How is he?"

"Well… We haven't actually met him officially yet either. He's pretty high above us but we've been in the same room before," the boy said. "But he's a strong a fearless leader. Exactly what you want in a boss. He maybe one of the youngest house leaders yet, but he's definitely one of the most influential. Since taking over the family when his father died he has grown further than anyone had thought possible. I couldn't be happier that they let me in. It's a dream come true. I just can't wait until they let me start the real work so I can make to big bucks."

"W-what about his younger sister I've heard about?"

The boys looked between each other in confusion. "Sister? Boss doesn't have a sister. He has a younger brother but he-"

"Don't talk about him," the other boy said quickly. "You know we're not supposed to."

"He's going to hear about him sooner or later. It might as well be from us," he countered.

"What are you talking about? Why can't you talk about… him," Touta asked in confusion as he continued to sweep.

"Okay, we know this sounds like some crazy superstition but trust me, it's completely true," the first boy said, lowering his voice. "The boss's younger brother isn't right, you know? Apparently after their parents died he snapped and went completely insane. It just got worse over time and now… Now he's barely even human. He's a killing machine too. Only thing he's good for now. He completely lacks empathy so he has no remorse when he kills and his kill count is insane. Boss has a pretty good reign on him though. That's the only thing keeping him from tearing through the place. Usually he's kept locked up, but sometime is allowed to roam about. If you ever see him though do not address him. Just pretend he's not there. I've heard of him killing others who has gotten close to him before."

"Wha-," Touta asked stunned, stopping what he was doing so he could fully listen to the story. This sounded beyond ridiculous.

"It's true. And he's a real killing machine too. I've actually seen him once," the other added coldly. "I was putting away some training equipment in the dojo. I wasn't paying attention to the time. If I had I would have known that it was supposed to be off limits at the time. When I went in he was training. His eyes locked with mine and they were ice cold and inky black like a demon's."

"You never told me that! What happened?"

"What do you think happened. I dropped everything and got out of there. I knew that if I stayed a moment longer that sociopath would have killed me on the spot. Not that I'm questioning the Boss, but he really shouldn't keep something so dangerous. I think it would be better if that monster was dead."

"That's enough," Touta shouted, snapping the broom in anger. Stunned, the other boys turned to him. "None of you know the first thing about Kuroumaru! If I hear you or any other asshole say one more thing like that about Kuroumaru I'll give you something to really fear."

"W-what," the boys stammered out, taken aback.

"Where's Kuroumaru's room? I need to get there."

"Are you insane newbie? He'll kill you."

"I'll take that chance," Touta said, looking at them sternly.

As soon as the boys spurted out what he wanted to know Touta quickly let them and ran in the direction he was given. He would have to hope they would keep their mouth shut, but right now he wasn't going to concern himself with a couple of stupid morons like them. His blood was boiling after everything they had said. Kuroumaru must have felt so alone in this hell if that was just a glimpse of how they treated her. Before he knew it he found himself in front of a strong looking door that was locked. This was it. He felt his heart beating like crazy as he began to clumsily undid the locks and slid open the door. Relif rushed over him finding Kuroumaru right in front of him. She was kneeling on the middle of the floor with her head toward the ground. He was to her in a second and wrapped his arms around her. He heard her let out a small, surprised gasp.

"I finally found you," Touta exclaimed in relief as he buried his head into the crook of her neck, squeezing her tightly.

"Tou… wha? H-how?"

"I'll tell you all about it later. Sorry it took so long. I came as fast as I could."

"Took long," Kuroumaru wondered out loud to herself, still dazed.

There was no way it had even been 24 hours yet. He would have had to have basically chased after her the moment he woke up. Kuroumaru sighed as she clinched her eyes shut as the tears she couldn't stop fell from her eyes. Of course, he did; that was Touta. She wrapped her arms around his waist tightly and breathed him in.

"Why are you here? They'll kill you if they find you"."

"Why else would I be here? I'm here to take you home."

Kuroumaru's face lit up at that prospect, but quickly faded as the implications came quickly back to the forefront of her mind. There was no place for her now knowing what she'd done to him. There was no erasing it.

"That sounds wonderful," Kuroumaru honestly replied. "But you need to leave."

Touta lifted her face up so he could better look at her, ignoring her comment. He ran his thumb gently over her bruised cheekbone.

"What did he do to you," Touta whispered in concern.

"It's fine," Kuroumaru said as she moved his hand away. She instantly felt guilty as Touta looked at her with a bit of hurt in his eyes, but she didn't have time to pull punches. "You need to leave. Without me," Kuroumaru said as she forcibly pulled further away from Touta and looked away. "It's best if you just forgot about me."

"Don't be stupid. I'm came all this way. I'm not leaving without you."

"You don't understand. There's just so much you don't know."

"Okay, I get that, I've been handling this all wrong, but we can talk all about it later," Touta said as he stood and began tugging at Kuroumaru's arm. In turn, she yanked it away and folded her hands in her lap with a deep frown on her face.

"Seriously," Touta asked in exasperation. He turned and checked behind him to make sure the coast was still clear.

"I'm staying," Kuroumaru insisted, raising her voice to try and sound more forceful. "This is where I belong. I've finally realized that."

Touta groaned in frustration as he turned and closed the door behind him. He'd hate for someone to show up unexpectedly and see him in here with her. He turned back to Kuroumaru who was now looking away. There was something seriously wrong here. Looking at her, she seemed completely without hope. He wasn't sure what exactly happened since she's been here, but whatever it was took a huge toll on her emotionally. He went back to her and sat down in front of her, placing a hand over hers. She winced, but thankfully didn't pull away this time.

"What is it? There's something you're not telling me."

"There's a lot I'm not telling you."

Touta let out a sad breath as he watched Kuroumaru dodge his attempt to talk to her. He gave her hand a small squeeze before removing his hand into his lap. He closed his eyes as he quietly contemplated his options.

"Kuroumaru… We need to talk," Touta said solemnly. "I wanted to wait until we were home free, but I guess it will have to be now."

Kuroumaru slowly turned to him and eyed him in concern. As always, her mind went to what she considered most undesirable scenarios. Was Touta finally breaking up with her? Honestly, she was surprised he made it as far as he did. He was probably only trying to help her now because he felt responsible for her. She didn't want him to break up with her… Which was confusing as not a moment ago she was begging for him to leave and forget about her.

"We have some… issues to sort out. I thought everything was perfect but, I see that I was just fooling myself into believing that. I think… I thought if I pretended everything was fine, it would work itself out in the end. When we first met, you were so shy and cute. That night I felt a real connection and was instantly attracted to you. I knew I couldn't just let you go. When you agreed to date me, I felt like the luckiest guy in the world. And then we started talking more and I also found out that you were also kind, smart, and really funny, especially when you're not trying to be. I love just being near you…

But, I realize now I only focused on the good parts about you. Looking back, you were also so depressed and withdrawn, more times than not. When you told me about… all of this I thought I could accept it. But I just ignored it instead. It just seemed so out of character for you, it didn't compute. When I talked to Eva last night she made me realize that I didn't really know you at all. I thought I could just treat you the way you should be treated and show you a good time it would make you okay. I was being selfish. I can't pretend anymore and..."

Kuroumaru silently watched Touta as he shifted uncomfortably and dry washed his hands. Kuroumaru could tell that he was struggling with his words.

"Are you going to break up with me now," Kuroumaru asked solemnly.

"What? I'm not breaking up with you," Touta replied with a hint of surprise.

"You're not," Kuroumaru asked with unmasked surprise.

"Kuroumaru, I'm in love with you. This whole thing definitely sucks, but it doesn't change how I feel. What I'm trying to say is… I want you to be able to share this with me. We may not be able to change what has already happened but I want to help you move forward."

"You don't know what you're talking about Touta… It's more complicated than that," Kuroumaru said, feeling her face heat up.

Touta opened his mouth, prepared with another protest, but Kuroumaru cut him off.

"I… Touta," Kuroumaru said, fighting to find the words. She had to tell him. Even if it would make him hate her. He deserved to know the truth. "It's my fault."

"This isn't your fault Kurou-"

Kuroumaru shook her head quickly, indicating that she wasn't talking about the situation right here, right now.

Now it was Kuroumaru's turn to fumble with her words. She was trying to say something important but couldn't find the right way to do it and was causing her to become distressed.

"Look, you don't have to tell me everything right now if you're not ready. I just wanted to tell you that I'm willing to tackle all of this. Besides, if everything works out the way I have it planned we'll have the rest of our lives to work this all out."

"The way you have it planned? Do you have some grand escape plan of some sort then?"

"Huh? No, I'm totally winging it," Touta flatly admitted to which Kuroumaru facepalmed. "But I do have plans for my life with you, I can't help it. I'm a dreamer. I've actually been thinking about it ever since you moved in with us. Driving here I had plenty of time to hash it all out. I want you to come home and live with us, like before. I want to take you on more dates… I still owe you the one I promised you. Your birthday party, and summer vacation will be over soon so we can go to school together. That way you can finally go to a real class, make friends and help me study. That time you helped me with those math problems was the only time I had ever enjoyed doing homework."

"From what I remember, you were much more focused on flirting than any actual studying," Kuroumaru said as a small protest to distract herself from her embarrassment stemming from Touta's romantic chatter.

Touta couldn't help but chuckle at her comment. A small blush creeped up on his cheeks as he continued. "I even planned things for our future too. I still want to travel the world when I graduate, that hasn't changed. I always thought I would be going it alone, but now I can't picture going anywhere without you by my side. Though more than anything, I want to marry you. Then we can start our own family. I want at least two kids, but I'm totally down with having more if you want to-"

Kuroumaru looked stunned at what Touta had just said so easily. "M-m-marriage? C-children!?" she stuttered with her face turning red like a tomato. She definitely never thought that far ahead like that. The thought made her head spin.

Touta's face quickly matched hers as he realized he just casually proposed to his girlfriend, even if indirectly. "I didn't mean it like I want to! I mean, I DO want to, just not yet! Ah, what was I thinking? My words just kinda got away from me. I mean, we've only been dating for a couple of months and we are not even old enough to get marry yet. I was getting ahead of myself again and only thinking about what I wanted and just blurted everything out. I'm so sorry! Man, why do I have to be such an idiot at times like this?!" Touta began fussing around in a panic.

Kuroumaru lowered her head, her long bangs obstructing her face. He could see that she started trembling as she put her hand over her mouth. Touta was worried that he had made her cry. It wasn't until he heard her budding laughter until he realized it was quite the opposite. He felt a mixture of embarrassment as well as happiness, finally see her more relaxed and back to her usual cute self.

"It's okay, Touta. I was just caught off guard. But, I'm… very happy you said that." Kuroumaru said with a warm smile as she wept away a tear.

"You are?" Touta asked with relief as Kuroumaru nodded. "So, what? Does this mean we're officially engaged now?"

He was only partially joking.

"Of course not Touta!" Kuroumaru shouted in a fluster.

"Sorry, sorry," Touta apologized, moving his arms to calm her down. "I was getting ahead of myself again. This is also what Eva was nagging me about last night. I should have been more tactful there."

Kuroumaru took a deep breath to calm herself down. "Well, I suppose that is one of the things I do love about you. Always rushing into things without thinking, trying to decide by yourself what's best for those you love without their input. I know you do it because you care but… I also find it very annoying," she added with a small glare before shifting to a warmer gaze. "But… I find it cute too."

Touta smiled widely. "Am I really that pushy? Sorry, I'll work on that starting tomorrow. Promise. But for now I'm desperate talk you into spending the rest of your life with me.

Kuroumaru became serious again as she thought back to the bigger issue at hand. "I keep trying to tell you that it won't be that simple with me. It's not a matter of me doing something silly or stupid that we can laugh off later. I am an assassin. I have done things, horrible things. Nothing can ever change what I have done. I was stupid and naive to think things could change. I bring death wherever I go. What happened last night with you just proved you are no exception," she stopped herself, thinking of the horrible thing she had done to Touta. She sadly glanced away again. "I don't think there's any way I can make up for everything I've done."

"I have no idea what your brother said to screw with your head this much, but you can't give up. Yes, what's done is done. But you can still change and do some good with your life. You'll never know if you don't try, and most importantly you will never have to do it alone. I'll be there right beside you all the way."

Kuroumaru felt overjoyed to hear those words. Touta's optimistic view always had the power to pull her out of her negativity, even if only momentarily. Could she really have a future where she can do something good with her life, and share that life with him?

"That does sound wonderful, Touta," she said, almost smiling.

"Then, you'll come home with me?" he said hopeful.

Kuroumaru was about to say 'yes', but something made her stop herself. What Yoshiro had revealed to her last night still weighed heavily on her mind. That was the one thing that made her doubt now. The one thing she was sure Touta would never forgive.

"Touta, there's still something we need to talk about," Kuroumaru began, looking deeply troubled. "But is very bad."

"Whatever it is we will take care of it."

"But what if it's something so world shattering bad that it will change everything? I'm afraid once you find out you won't want to be with me… I'm certain you won't want to be with me."

"I wish you would give me a bit more credit. I just gave you my once-in-a-lifetime proposal. Kuroumaru, I don't know what else I can say to convince you how committed I am to you but… I can't imagine my life without you. Whether you like it or not you're a part of my life now. Nothing you do or have done will change that.

Kuroumaru just couldn't imagine him to accepting it. She didn't want him to know, but she couldn't just let Touta offer her all that without at least letting him know the implications of staying with her. Touta had the right to know, even if he ended up hating her because of it… She took a deep breath and looked out Touta with a serious expression.

"I have to tell you something," Kuroumaru started, hesitating if she should continue or not. "It's because of me your parents are… dead."

Touta's smile dropped as he struggled to process and respond to her words.

"What do you mean by that? That's crazy," he said in a fake laugh. "My parents died in a car accident. How…" Touta stopped when he remembered how Eva always dodged the details of his parent's deaths. He admitted to himself that he didn't really know all the details of what happened. He also wouldn't put it past Eva to hide the truth from him as it was something she had a habit of doing.

Kuroumaru kept silent and was now looking away again, too afraid to face him.

"Are you… saying… Was this one of your 'jobs'? You…?" Touta fearfully asked, fighting to process this.

Kuroumaru gave a single, soft nod.

Touta tried to swallow, but the lump in his throat was making it difficult. "You... did you do it? Did you kill them,'" he asked fearing the answer more than anything in the world.

Kuroumaru sat there silently for what felt like an eternity. His hands were trembling and he could feel the tears building up in his eyes. The silence was killing him, and he was beginning to take it as a sign of confirmation.

"No matter what excuse I give you," Kuroumaru finally began. "The truth of the matter is that your parents are dead because of me. Your parents, your memories, I'm the one who took _everything_ from you. So, now that you know… I understand if you want to leave me," Kuroumaru said, fully expecting Touta to finally come to his senses and walk away from what's left of her life forever.

Touta stayed rooted where he was as he tried to compute all this new information. So many thoughts and questions were running though his head he wasn't even sure where to start. Looking at Kuroumaru he could see that this was tearing her up inside. The way she worded it though… something didn't feel right.

"Kuroumaru, you never did really answer my question. Did _you_ do it?"

Kuroumaru didn't respond as she still looked down in shame and tears fell from her eyes. "You know I'm a murderer Touta. I've lost count of how many people have died from my hands. Your parents' deaths are on me. But… no, I was not the one who technically did it. I had failed that mission and… needed assistance. I am the one who caused the wreck though."

Touta looked at her with a mixed expression as he fought to try and process this. This was already an emotional roller-coaster ride this past couple of days and this was the hardest hit. He wiped away the flowing tears from his cheeks, failing to respond to Kuroumaru's confession. "Well, this sucks. I think we're both going to need some serious therapy after this."

"Wha-? Huh?!" Kuroumaru muttered in astonishment. She didn't know what he meant by that.

"I already told you. I love you, Kuroumaru. It doesn't make it okay and we're going to have to figure out what to do all this but I'm still not giving up. I'll go with you forever if you let me."

Kuroumaru put her hands over her face as she began sobbing. She knew she didn't deserve Touta. But after all this he was still willing to be with her. She was scared of what will happen tomorrow but if Totua wants to be with her through it all she didn't have the willpower to stop him.

"Okay," Kuroumaru squeaked out.

"So," Touta smiled gently as he took Kuroumaru's hands. "Have I finally convinced you yet?"

"I'm so happy, Touta. I don't think I even deserve to be this happy. Are you sure? I'm weak, small, and a selfish coward. How can you want someone like me?"

"Listen carefully, Kuroumaru. I'm going to say this now and I'll even say it as many times needed for it to sink in," Touta said looking directly into her eyes. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you and only you. The only thing I want more in the entire universe is for you to feel the same way."

"I do. I want that more than anything too," Kuroumaru replied with a beautiful smile that lit the room.

Touta smiled enthusiastically and pulled Kuroumaru into a tight embrace.

"You'll come with me then," Touta asked hopefully.

"I'll go with you," she confirmed. "And I'm not entirely sure if I can, but I want to atone for what I've done."

"Don't worry. I know you can do it, and I'll be with you the whole way."

"Thank you, Touta. I'll especially try my best to atone for the damage I've done to you. I promise to give you many wonderful memories to make up for the ones I stole from you."

"Oh? In that case, why don't we start with the memory of our wedding?" Touta said with a cheesy smile. Even with everything that just happened he loved Kuroumaru's sudden determination.

"Touta!" Kuroumaru screeched as she pushed him away with a beet red face, more embarrassed than ever.

"I'm just kidding! We have to wait to even be old enough to marry anyway. But I do _really_ hope that's a guaranteed memory in store for our future!"

Kuroumaru looked quite severely at him, still blushing like crazy. "Honestly Touta, let's be serious. The thing you said about traveling the world with you, marriage and… kids." Kuroumaru said the last part as her face turned even redder. "That is a very important and sensitive matter, and we have a lot to sort out before we even start thinking about all that. I cannot say yes to all that right away. I'm not as hasty as you. So please give me some time."

"That's fine. Just that you didn't say no is enough for now. If taking it slow makes you the happiest, I would wait even hundreds of years for you to be ready to marry me!"

Kuroumaru laughed. "Don't be ridiculous! Even under best circumstances we'd both be long dead by then.

Touta smiled widely at seeing he finally made her laugh again. "That's true, but don't doubt that I would do that if we had the time."

Kuroumaru smiled lovingly as she lifted her hand and ran her fingers up and down his cheek. Kuroumaru's loving stare with Touta was interrupted as she noticed that something looked off about him. She furrowed her eyebrows together and placed her hands on the sides of his head and tilted it up to the light. Touta seemed a bit confused but wasn't going to stop her. Looking into his eyes she noticed the dilation in his pupils were unusual.

"Are you alright? You look like you have a concussion," Kuroumaru asked in concern.

"Oh, that? Yeah, but the doctor said it was just a minor one.

"You came all the way here with a concussion," Kuroumaru question, obviously concerned.

"I know, I know. It's fine though. I just have a headache. No big deal."

"It is a big deal! You have to take concussions seriously Touta. They can have long lasting effects if left untreated."

"Well, we both know I don't need any more brain damage," Touta joked with a teasing smile. He instantly regretted his comment as he saw the color drain from Kuroumaru's face. "That was a joke," he quickly added.

"That's not funny." Kuroumaru hissed before pulling at Touta's arm, urging him to her bed. "Here, lay down. You need some rest."

"Do we have time for this," Touta questioned as he sat down on the mattress.

"It's not a good time for us to leave right now anyway. There will be too many people around. We should wait a few hours. How did you avoid running into someone before finding me anyway?"

"Oh, I didn't," Touta confessed as he let Kuroumaru press on his shoulders so that he would lie down. Kuroumaru gave him a look mixed with confusion and alarm. "I ran into a couple of low level guys on the way in. I thought I was dead for sure at first but I just bluffed and said that I was a new recruit."

"And they believed you!"

"You bet they did! They even helped me get past a few other guys who were really scary looking."

"You're kidding? That's… actually kind of embarrassing."

"I think I just got lucky on running into some newbies."

"Well… I hope you saved some of that luck for later. We're going to need it."

Kuroumaru reached for her alarm that was sitting on her bookshelf and set it to go off in a few hours. Hopefully that will give Touta some time for his concussion to subside. She set her alarm down and quickly began to prepare. She grabbed her spare traveling bag and began to put the only items worth saving into her bag.

"Hey, I remember that guy," Touta said from his spot on the bed, referring to the stuffed ermine he had won for her.

"Yes," Kuroumaru said with a smile. "I've hated not having him the past few weeks."

"What else do you have there?"

"You need to rest."

"A few more minutes won't hurt. Not knowing will keep me up longer."

Kuroumaru sighed as she pulled everything closer.

"These are my most valuable possession," she said holding up the small portrait of her and her family. Touta took it and looked over it curiously.

"Wow, is everyone in your family this freaking gorgeous? All of you look like models! And look at you. You were so cute at that age. How old were you?"

"Five."

"And him," Touta said as he pointed to the teenager in the photo. "That must be him."

"It is."

"Hmmm," he said as he passed the photo back. He never hated someone he never met, but he really hated this guy.

"And this is my own personal artwork I was able to save," Kuroumaru said with a smile as she passed over her drawing.

"Wow..." Touta said again with less enthusiasm. "This is… very interesting looking."

"It's not very good, I know."

"It sucks. You're a horrible artist," Touta teased. "What's this blob with black all over it supposed to be?"

"That's me!"

"Uh-huh. Why are the flower towering over you like that?"

"You know what, just give it back," Kuroumaru said in a huff.

"No, it's cute. And who's this? You're mom."

"No, that's Yoshiro again."

"Again?"

"And this, she said holding up her flower crown. This is my favorite. My mother and I made this." Touta went to grab for it, but Kuroumaru pulled it away. "Sorry, it's really delicate."

"I get it," Touta said with a smile.

"Anyway, it's time to get some sleep," Kuroumaru said.

She carefully packed everything away in her bag. After that she went and flicked the lights off. Carefully she made her way next to her bed. She sat down on the floor and began to lay down.

"What are you doing," Touta asked as he sat back up.

"I'm going to try and get some sleep too."

"You're not sleeping on the floor," Touta said as he tried to feel for Kuroumaru in the darkness.

"I don't mind," Kuroumaru assured as she felt Touta's hand find her arm.

"You don't have to sleep on the floor because of me. We could just… um, share the bed."

Kuroumaru felt her face heat up and her heart begin to beat faster. "T-that's okay. I think that's a bit too much for me."

"It's not like we haven't slept together before"

"This is completely different. That was a couch. This is a bed."

"Either you come up here and sleep next to me on the bed or I'm going down there and sleep with you on the floor."

Kuroumaru let out a sigh, knowing Touta would do just that. He was relentless. She gulped as she slowly sat up and slid into her bed next to Touta who was kind enough to scoot over as far as he could to give her what little room he could on the small mattress. Once she was next to him Touta threw the blankets over their bodies and settled himself to his side. Kuroumaru laid there stiffly, her heart pounding in her chest as she listened to Touta's breathing beside her. After a few minutes of awkward silence, she felt Touta's arm wrap around her waist as he pulled himself closer. It felt like a bolt of lightning shot through her… but she could feel Touta's heart pounding against her and was thankful hers wasn't the only one.

"Even though I'm exhausted, I can't sleep," he admitted.

"J-just close your eyes and try to relax," she replied, trying to take her own advice.

"Hey, Kuroumaru?"

"Hm?"

"After everything. You really do still love your brother, don't you?"

"… Yes, I do."

"Why, I don't get it. After everything he's done to you, how can you not hate him?"

"He's not that bad. He doesn't deserve how I've been treating him lately."

"Kuroumaru, he beat the hell out of you."

"Well, I did run away…."

"That doesn't excuse him! Why are you always defending that piece of trash?"

"Don't call him that… He wasn't always like this. When we were younger we got along really well. He was the best big brother I could ever have. He was my best friend. When we were kids there wasn't anyone else my age living here and he'd always let me hang out with him and his friend. We used to hide out in one of the storage rooms to eat junk food and watch movies. Oh, and he used to draw and paint too. He was so good, and while he was working on something I'd always tried to copy what he was doing but, well you saw my skill."

"A good and even artistic brother? I can't picture that at all right now."

"I know, it's a bit hard to believe even for me sometimes."

"Did you two really have that much fun together back then?"

"Yeah, we were really happy once. I miss us being like that."

"Well… he still pisses me off. Whatever reasons he had, I will never forgive him. He forced you into killing, took your freedom away… On top of that, he forced you to live as a boy, going as far as making everyone else think that's how it's always been. How can anyone do that to his little sister Kuroumaru?"

Kuroumaru eyebrow twitched when Touta said her name with that context. Now that she was openly talking about her past, something she has never done before she thought of that little detail she never shared with Touta. Something she thought was going to be lost forever when her brother began to shape her new identity.

"Now that you bring that up, there is something I have never told you. Since you're wanting us to be more open with each other, I think I should let you know. I've actually wanted to tell you for a while now, but I guess I just never saw a reason to bring it up."

"What is it? Don't tell me you have kept even more secrets from me."

"I do, I'm so sorry," she said regretfully, second guessing herself. "Should I not tell you?"

"No, please tell me. I'm sorry, it's just been a long day."

"Well, don't you think Kuroumaru is a little masculine for a girl's name?"

"Well, I guess it is. I never bothered to question it. After all, when we first met you said you were a guy and then I found you weren't," Touta's eyes opened wide when a realization fell on him. "Wait, are you trying to tell me that…"

"That's right. Kuroumaru is not my name. At least, it's not the one my parents gave me."

"Your brother even forced you to change your name," Touta said between gritted teeth. "And then that means I don't even know the name of my own girlfriend. Great, Eva's going to love this. I really do have a lot to learn," he sighed before squeezing his arm around her. "So, what is it? Your true name?"

"Um, well…," she began while nervously playing with her fingers. "It's Kurenai."

Kuroumaru grew nervous as she didn't hear him respond.

"I mean," Kuroumaru said as she quickly became flustered. "It's not that I dislike the name Kuroumaru or anything. You can keep calling me that if you'd like. I just… wanted you to know. Ugh, just forget I said-"

"I love it."

"You… do?"

"Mmhmm," she could hear Touta say as he placed his chin on Kuroumaru's shoulder. He was so close to her she could feel his hot breath on her neck. "I love you Kurenai."

Kurena inhaled deeply as she allowed the warm feeling in her chest sink in. It had been so long since someone has called her by her actual name she had forgotten what it sounded like.

"I love you too Touta."


End file.
